America The Beautiful
by Kethissfreak
Summary: So many scars... When will they stop bleeding? As American Soldier, America's sister tries to heal both physical and mental scars, she recalls a series of events in which led to her life today: wars. Some have good memories, others have bad, but all wars took lives. Full of love and loss, pain and comfort. Redemption. From Hell and back again, to cease Hellfronts to come.
1. Chapter 1: American Soldier

**Hello! So ya'll are probably wondering what this story is about, weeeeelllll sorry but it isn't about America... The character is related to America though! She is his sister. A lot of the other Hetalia characters are also included in this story so don't worry you'll see them! So enjoy and Review, hopefully my next chapter will be out soon. :)**

****Disclaimer** I do not own Hetalia. The only character I own in here is American Soldier.  
**

Chapter 1: Who am I?

Some often say it's sad that people must tear themselves apart for such small things as land or politics… But I know now they don't tear themselves apart for that. The reason I say that is because I've already done it. I am American Soldier, also known as Anne Jolene or A.J.. Don't you remember me? Of course you don't…. You aren't supposed to… It's hard to know who I am when all most nations see of me is a glimpse of a scarred face, blurring as she runs through the melee of the battle field. Not when all you can bother to hear is either the thundering ring of gunfire or the screaming voices of soldiers after the short sound of a bullet hitting its mark. Now before I bore you to death with my sob story, I'll just start with the beginning of all things: normality.

* * *

I walked into my room which was covered in news clippings, magazines, and different clothes chucked onto the floor. After a long sigh, I winced as I sat on my bed. I was covered in scars, so it was hard to really sit down. I took off my boots and looked around, remembering a few things, sitting in the dim-lit place in which I'd go to be alone… I ran a hand through my scruffy brown hair that was most often tied in a ponytail.

"Hey, sis! Do you know where my computer is?" My brother called. I scowled a little. He was loud and my ears were tender…

"In here… I had to use it for a sec…" I called back. Soon after, I heard the footsteps of my brother and then he walked in, tilting his head and then looking around my room with his big, blue eyes.

"Jeez… Don't ya think you should… you know… clean up a little…?" He said, tapping an old news clipping with the tip of his foot. I looked up at him with eyes that had long been dulled by memories.

"Look who's talking…" I came back with. He paused and looked down, unsure what to say to that one. I was referring to his storage room packed with old and useless things that somehow he can't bring himself to get rid of. Well I was just like that, except it was my bed room, I didn't use storage rooms for that sort of thing. I turned storage rooms into tool houses. Plus, he spent as much time away from that room as he possibly could. Me? I wallowed in here. It even scared my bro sometimes. Now was one of those times.

"When are ya gonna hang out with me a little while, huh…?" He asked gently, so as not to irritate me. I sighed.

"… I'll be out there soon… Just… wait a few minutes, okay?" I looked up at him from my bed. The only response I received back was a somewhat sad look in his eyes and a soft sigh as he walked away. He new that the meaning of that response was 'no'. Normally I'd make promises like that… _Yeah, I'll hang out with you._ Ten minutes later, I'm lying on my bed either sobbing for the rest of the night or asleep and reliving memories I've tried so hard to forget.

I moved a certain way and I gasped in pain, my hand slapping over my left eye. I pulled it back to look to see it was bleeding again. _Fucking scars…_ I sighed and stood up. This was a daily occurrence for me. Scars open up, get a bandage, go back to bed to drown in my own mind. I had two long scars that made an X shape traveling over my eye. Those two were fairly recent… So it's gonna take a while for them to heal up properly. I got a bandage and wrapped around my head to cover my eye then went back on the bed to think. Something poked my back and I sat up, quirking a brow. I reached underneath me and I pulled out a knife in a leather pouch. I stared at it. The pouch looked like something you wouldn't see today. And the knife didn't look so mechanical as so many knifes do now… without any life in them or detail to look back on. This knife looked like it was made with human hands, with a hammer and an anvil. Into the blade were my initials, A.J. and in the wooden handle with brass lining, were flawed carve marks. I stared at it for a long time, and just like that, memories flooded my head…

* * *

**Suspense city. I promise my chapter will be out! Probably tomorrow or the day after on 2/21/13!**


	2. Chapter 2: Lost and Found

**Hello! As promised, here is the next chapter of 'America the Beautiful', as promised! And the third chapter is currently underway! ^^ Hope you enjoy it? Review and follow, as you wish!**

****Disclaimer** I do not own Hetalia. I only own Anne Jolene/American Soldier!**

**Chapter 2: Lost and Found**

I sat with my brother in the grass, my dress torn and dirtied and my face and hair just the same. My brother was four years younger than I and was just a small child. He was crying… I hated it when he cried. It made me feel useless. I wasn't sure what to do, I was no mother, just his sister doing all she could to care for him. I shushed him softly and he just cried and cried, clutching closer to me and shutting his eyes tight. I looked up at the sky with pleading eyes, as if praying for help. I looked down and gritted my teeth, but was startled when I heard footsteps in the distant part of the grassy field. Someone was coming…

I stiffened and started backing away. But my brother would not stop crying. I wanted to will him to stop but he wouldn't! What if this person had evil intent? Then what?! Sure, I'd fight them off, but without anything but my hands to defend me I didn't know how long I would-

"Hullo there?…" I heard a boyish voice. He was coming closer! Damn! I tried backing away further but I wasn't fast enough. A sunshine blonde-haired boy moved the grass out of his way to see what was going on. His green eyes widened slightly at the sight of me and my brother. I shook slightly but there was no way I was letting him know I was afraid. I grit my teeth up at him and glared in warning. But he didn't seem affected… He looked about my age, maybe a little older… One of his thick eyebrows furrowed and he slowly approached closer.

"Back off!" I snapped. He flinched a bit at my hostility, but soon recovered and kneeled down.

"I am not here to harm you…" he said. His accent was… weird. I'd never heard it before… Obviously he understood me and I could understand him, I just thought his accent was the queerest thing I'd ever heard in my life.

"How do I know that?" I spat back, still not sure of whether to trust him. He looked at me and sighed in a bit of an annoyed tone.

"Because if I'd wanted to I would have already done it…" he muttered. He slowly held out his hand. "Come now… Come along…" he said and looked at me reassuringly. I stopped shaking but I still wasn't sure… But… I looked in this boy's eyes and didn't see any threat, not a glint of it. It was then I wondered if he really did want to help. I also mulled over the fact that I really had no choice. I had a hungry brother to take care of… Speaking of which…

"Can I bring my brother if I go with you…?" I said, holding my brother protectively close to me. The thick-browed boy chuckled. By God, this boy actually could laugh? Could have fooled me…

"Of course… That was the original plan…" He continued to hold out his hand. I looked at it for a long time and after hesitating and mulling it over just a little longer, I raised up my hand and took his gently, slowly getting up and looking up at him, which wasn't hard considering he was about my age and so was only just a bit taller than me. A tinge of pink went across his cheeks but I pretended not to notice.

"Do you have a name?" He asked me. I stood up straight now that I wasn't afraid. I smiled an almost boyish, crooked smile as if I really did not belong in that dress however torn it might have been.

"My name is Anne. Anne Jolene. My brother's name is Alfred F. Jones," I said. He smiled just a little, not even noticing the boyish smile I had regardless of it's odd place on my lips.

"It's nice to meet you both. My name is Arthur Kirkland."

* * *

I later was being washed by servant in a basin filled with hot water. Jesus H. Christ, where has that been all my life!? I was enjoying myself with this, considering having dirt all over you and a smell is not exactly nice. Most of the dirt was gone now and my hair smelled nice now, plus it was silky instead of filthy and tangled, although it was still a little windswept (as it always is) when I was done washing.

"Miss…" inquired the servant who had prepared the bath. The servant had brought in a dress and I stared at it for a long time before smiling awkwardly and embarrassed.

"Err… is there… any possible way that I could _not_ put on a dress?" I asked. The servant quirked a brow.

"What do you mean, Miss?"

"Well see… umm… I don't like dresses…" I chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of my head. The servant chuckled a little as she thought of the idea.

"Well… Unless you want to wear boy's clothes…" she said. I blinked. I actually had absolutely no problem with the thought.

"Could I?"

"What?"

"Wear boy's clothes instead of girl's. Would it be at all possible?" I said. The servant looked a bit taken aback. I guess she expected me not to consent to the boy's clothes idea.

"Err… well, you are a strange one aren't you… Well, Young Master Kirkland has an outfit that doesn't fit him anymore that might fit you…" She curtsied and walked out, leaving me alone in the room, wrapped in a towel to dry off. I shook a little, not being used to the cold air from being in the hot water bath so long. I was tempted to jump back into it again just to escape the chilliness of the air. I sighed with relief as the servant walked back in with a boy's outfit that was scarlet red and looked pretty nice to me, even though I later learned it was actually plainer than some. "Will this do?" she asked. I nodded quickly.

"Yes!" I said and then she dressed me. I felt so awkward being dressed by another person. Were things_ always_ like that here? At the time I didn't care. I nodded a thanks to the servant and smiled crookedly once again. I walked outside the washroom and looked around for Arthur, considering he said he'd wait until I was done getting cleaned up. I didn't see my brother… He was probably still washing.

I yawned boredly and decided to look around the place._ There must be interesting things in a huge place like this…_ I thought. I walked around the mansion and was amazed at what I saw; antiques, swords, many rooms of all kinds. I almost believed I'd get lost in a place like this. I walked through hallways many and staircases great, all with interesting things to behold, including portraits of all kinds of different people in what I assumed was Arthur's family, including a wavy-haired, blonde boy with a handsome face, but a rather odd air about it that I didn't really like… It seemed… sly. I shook my head of that thought and looked further, seeing so many others like him.

I even was so immersed in interest to the things inside that I accidentally bumped into Arthur. I slowly looked up to see him quirking a thick brow at me… the eyebrows killed me… They were huge. I was inwardly laughing at them but I didn't show it. Instead I blinked and smiled awkwardly.

"Uh, hi there…" I said.

"What are you doing? I thought I told you I'd wait for you-" His face suddenly turned red when he looked at me. "WHY IN THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU WEARING MY CLOTHES?!" I shrugged and looked up at him, unaffected by his outburst.

"I don't like dresses. And your servant said I could wear it because you never do anymore and it fits me nicely… So why not?" I smiled crookedly again. I liked the outfit and I really didn't see what his problem was. He sighed and put a finger to his temple, slowly rubbing it as a look of annoyance crossed his features.

"You really shouldn't be doing that… Wearing boy's clothes I mean… especially without my knowing it," he said.

"Why not?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips and quirking a brow. "I see no issue in it. It keeps me covered, it looks nice on me and it fits."

"You don't understand…"

"What don't I understand? I see no reason to change into anything else." I crossed my arms stubbornly. "I'm wearing it. Deal with it." He sighed, exasperatedly and muttered.

"Fine… You may wear it. Also, because you and your brother have no other place to go… I offer you my home to stay in until you find some other place that will take you in permanently…" he said. I smiled brightly and grinned.

"Really?" I said.

"Yes…" he looked to the side as if he thought his own idea was ludicrous. But I all the same was happy that my brother and I had a place to stay, even if it was only for a little while.

"Well then if I stay here, I ought to pay you back with something. I can do tasks around the house and outside too if you want. I can chop wood, tend fires, build things, clean the horse stables, anything you want! Be it outside or inside!" I grinned. But he again quirked a brow skeptically.

"That's a man's work… Shouldn't you do things more along the lines of cooking and cleaning?" he said. I growled.

"You aren't satisfied very much are you…"

"No! I just think it's ridiculous for you to-" he stopped when I walked fast outside and opened the gate to the horse stables. "W-Wait a moment what are you doing?! There's a horse in there that hasn't been broken yet and you could get hurt! Damn it, listen to me!" I drowned out the sounds of his scolding though and saw a black horse inside start braying at my approach and paw at the ground. That must have been the wild one... I went inside and looked up at the black, agitated animal and went slowly closer.

"Easy… Easy boy…" I said softly and stepped slowly forward, reaching out my hand without fear in my eyes. The horse brayed still and I slowly stepped forward. "Calm…" I continued.

"You bloody idiot, get away from there!" I heard Arthur shout. I turned to him.

"Shut it…! You're shouting is part of the reason he's scared!" I scolded back. He immediately was quiet and his eyes widened in surprise at my retaliation. I turned back to the stallion, who still seemed frightened of me. "Calm, boy… Easy, boy…." I hushed softly. I gently took the rope that was around his neck to hold him still. He flinched but I just said "steady" softly to him. I slowly kneeled down and then back up, holding out a fresh handful of hay to him. "Go on…" I said softly. He slowly and timidly reached his muzzle to my hand and ate the hay gratefully. I smiled and gently pet his muzzle as he ate, practically forgetting Arthur was still standing there. "That's it…" I whispered.

I didn't notice Arthur standing behind me with his mouth partially open from my actions. The horse playfully nipped my hair and I chuckled, gently petting his muzzle.

"I think I'll name you Geth," I said while smiling. Only then did I turn my head to look at Arthur. "Do you believe me now?"

"I… well…" he trailed off and then decided I had indeed proved him wrong. "Yes, I believe you…" He looked down at me and nodded. "You may do the work you offered… But do not think it will be easy. I am going to make sure that whatever I ask you, you do well. Understood?"

"Yes," I nodded. Then after a pause I smiled in a sideways form. "One more thing…" I said.

"What?" he looked down at me. I pointed to Geth.

"Can I keep him?"

* * *

Arthur wasn't kidding when he said that he'd make sure I was always busy. I chopped many blocks of wood and when that was done it was tend the fires, then it was weed the garden, then it was clean the stables, cook the food, clean the counters, do the dishes polish the silver, and then when day was done, sweep the damn chimney. Not only did the chimney turn me pitch black when I was done, it also trekked the ashes every which way else the first time I did it.

"Anne, you were supposed to cover the floors and the furniture before you did that!" I heard Arthur scold when apparently I did that wrong. Then after that I spent hours cleaning the floor and furniture, _again_, after taking a bath and before going to sleep (one which only lasted about three hours). And in the early morn, it started all again. There was one thing in which Arthur enjoyed having me around despite my quirks and clumsiness when doing the work at first, and that was that I didn't complain. Every day, he didn't hear a peep out of me. The reason for this was because I had food when I was there (even when I was the one cooking it, because Arthur's food sucked), a warm bed to sleep in, a roof over my head, and clothes on my back. I didn't mind the work.

Another reason I didn't mind was because while I worked, Arthur would teach my younger brother a few things and tutor him (never me, because apparently women didn't get educated especially if they are working women instead of high class), but I would listen to his teaching at the same time, letting myself learn things too… quietly… without him knowing. Generally, he had interesting things to say when he said something instead of screamed it when he got angry. He was a nice person too when you didn't go out of your way to anger him.

There was also always a day where Arthur would ask me if I had found a house to live in yet. And I would always reply:

"Not yet but I'll try soon."

There was one thing about him though that scared me a bit…

He would be talking to people who weren't there and he'd say words I didn't understand while wearing a black cloak while he was alone in his room. I happened to be passing by once when he was doing this. There were also candles lit around him while the rest of the room was darkened completely. I could swear I saw dark shapes moving around the walls in the form of shadow as he was chanting…

For a while I stayed away from him because of that. That made me scared of him for a little bit, but after a while, I got used to it and didn't really care about what he did in the darkness of his room. Alfred on the other hand…

My younger brother would often see Arthur do this and run out of the room crying when he saw the shadows. And of course the first thing he did was bowl into me and hug me.

"He's scary, sister! There's scary monsters in there, hide meee!" he'd cry out and I'd sigh and slap my hand to my forehead.

"Alfred… That's just… Arthur's thing… Don't walk in there while he's doing that okay?" I said. Alfred would just nod and cling to me, his child body shivering. I patted his back and sighed.

The next day, again Arthur asked, "Do you have a permanent place to stay at yet?"

"No," I replied.

* * *

One day, Arthur came to me and told me that we were going to go hunting soon, that if I wanted to work like a man, then I would also hunt like one. I was happy and excited, setting to work right away. I had made my first hunting knife… and was given my first lesson in archery. I messed up a little on the handle and carved my initials into the blade, and now it was my very own…!

We went out hunting and after a while of trekking, I saw a beautiful deer and aimed my arrow at it, but I was holding it wrong, so Arthur went up behind me and showed me how to hold it by taking my arms and trying to put them in a relaxing point. I again pretended not to notice his blush. I fired the arrow at the deer, hitting it in the heart. Arthur actually smiled and praised me.

"Very good…." he said and then we went to go clean it. Unlike most girls, I didn't mind the mess. I felt useful while cleaning the animal out. Arthur simply observed, occasionally showing me what to do. A week later he approached and asked gently, "Do you have a reason to leave?"

"No," I replied again.

* * *

I had learned to ride from him and Geth was my horse. After he taught me how to sit and how to keep on the saddle, I whipped the reigns. "Hyeah!… Aaa-AAHH!" Not twenty feet did the horse run before I fell off into the grass. "God damn it!" I cursed. Arthur only laughed at my clumsiness. "What are _you_ laughin' at?!" I growled at him. Arthur was unaffected. He just laughed then walked over and held out a hand to help me up. I took his hand and he pulled me up. I accidentally fell against him though as he helped me up. "Yeek!"

"Steady on, there…!" I heard Arthur chuckle and then I looked up at him to see him blushing of slight embarrassment. Almost three weeks later he asked the daily question of residence and I didn't answer back. He knew the answer.

* * *

Many times after that, Arthur taught me how to ride, with him holding the reigns and showing me how to stay on the horse while it galloped. Riding with him behind me and his arms around me made me more than a tiny bit flustered. After a few weeks of teaching me how to ride, he decided to try my luck with riding alone again.

"And if I fall off?" I asked him.

"Then land on your ass. It's softer that way," he said while half-smiling. I smirked. I'd gotten a foul mouth from being with Arthur so much.

"And damn the consequences of a sore butt," I replied and went to my horse, Geth. I mounted him as England had showed me how to do many times. I was a little nervous with falling off but I swallowed it down and took a breath. I looked forward with determined eyes and I waited, then whipped the reigns. "HYEAH!"

Geth took off running. I expected my form to fall off but I was joyous to find that I remained steady on the saddle on his back. I laughed as I got him to gallop faster and faster through the field. I felt as if I could fly as I felt the wind on my face and the sun upon my skin, the speed whipping my hair back in all different directions and my coat billowing behind me. I looked up at the blue sky in awe and at the setting sun and just laughed and shouted in triumph, Geth seeming to bray with me as we raced with the wind and soared with it. I felt so free as I never had before.

Arthur goaded me on and I continued to ride as I had wanted to so many times before, feeling as if I could live forever and ever.

Not once after that did I hear Arthur ask if I had another place to stay.

**Not sure when the third chapter will be out. Hope you enjoyed this! The chapter may be out in two or three days at least depending upon how demanding schoolwork becomes. Keep your eyes pealed! :)**


	3. Chapter 3: Remembrance of Youth

**Chapter 3 is out! And much earlier than I expected actually so I am very happy. I hope you are too! :) Enjoy the read and review and follow!**

****Disclaimer** Hetalia, I haz none of it. Anne Jolene is my only character, and in this chapter, so is the throw-in character of Lydia. XD**

**Chapter 3: Remembrance of Youth**

I gripped tighter on the knife and my hand shook but then I dropped it onto my lap, sighing and burying my face in my hands. I shook as I held back tears and I let out a long breath of air, trying to calm myself down. I looked up at the ceiling at that point. I figured my scars on my eye had stopped bleeding by now, so I unwrapped the bandage calmly and threw the scarlet-stained thing away into a bin next to my bed. I heard footsteps outside my room and I looked up to see my brother.

"Sis, what happened to the scars…?!" He panicked and walked over, looking at my eye with widened eyes. I sighed.

"They just opened up a little again… No big deal…" I said calmly. He however, didn't back down on trying to hawk over me.

"Jeez! You're eye looks swollen!" He went to touch it to see how bad but I smacked his hand away, a little annoyed.

"I said I'm fine, alright…?!" I snapped and sighed. "Sorry but you're overreacting…" He looked a little bit pained by my harsh words and he looked down, only to blink at the sight of the knife. He smiled a little.

"I remember that… I didn't know you still had it…" he said. I nodded and twirled it around in my fingers.

"Yeah… been a while since I took it out…" I replied softly. Alfred nodded and then after a moment's pause, he started to laugh and chuckle a little, covering his mouth to get himself to muffle them. I quirked a brow and looked at him.

"What?" I asked.

"Sorry… but… do you remember that one time… Lydia Chamberlain?" he chuckled as he mentioned her and then the laugh became contagious as I too remembered.

"Yeah, I remember her alright…" I sighed and leaned back. "… How could I forget?…"

* * *

Arthur and I were teenagers when the day came that Lady Lydia Chamberlain would visit the Kirkland manor. I had grown from a preteen girl to a rather pretty tomboy young lady. I was cleaning the house while Alfred was getting dressed into a fine coat to meet the Lady. He kept fidgeting so much though that Arthur growled.

"Keep still, Alfred…!" he scolded as he tried to button it up, failing due to the fact the boy was moving around so much.

"It's itchy!" the eleven-year-old Alfred complained. I rolled my eyes and shook my head, smiling crookedly. Leave it to Alfred to irritate Arthur… I was wearing my men's attire like I usually do. After a while, Arthur had gotten used to it. It's extremely normal for me to do something like that, and for him it is normal to see.

A few moments later I heard a knock at the door and I went to answer it. I opened it and bowed to a girl about my age… but completely opposite to me in the ways of looks. I tried not to grimace. She was a fair-skinned, curly-haired blonde with bright blue eyes and wore a white and light green dress that started as a corset, with short, bell shoulder sleeves. The dress poofed out in layers and layers of linen on the lower part of it. She had a green sash tied around her waist that had a bow in the back. God, she looked so prissy… She tried to smile but it ended in a sneer. She closed her parasol and held it close to her front.

"Good evening…" she greeted to Arthur as if I wasn't even there. I quirked a brow. Jeez… rude? I looked at her and compared her looks to mine. Brown, messy hair vs. curly blonde locks, froufrou dress vs. farmer boy's clothes, yadda yadda yadda…

"Welcome, Lady Lydia…" Arthur said and nodded, taking her hand after she held it out and leaning down, planting a kiss on her knuckles. He smiled a little at her. "I hope you enjoy your visit here…" She smiled prettily at him and batted her eyelashes at him.

"It will be hard not to enjoy with you around…" she purred to him, taking his arm as he led her to the living room to talk with her. I almost gagged. I went to the kitchen to get the food going, partially because I was supposed to do that and partially to avoid whatever the sleazy blonde woman would say to my caretaker. I got some tea and cakes and set it out on the small table in between the two armchairs in which Lydia and Arthur sat.

"Thank you, Anne," nodded Arthur. I nodded back nonchalantly, as I was supposed to be seen and not heard while Lydia was there. I heard them say a few things back and forth to each other while I was cooking or rearranging things.

"So, what is living closer to the countryside like? I prefer the city myself…" I heard Lydia tut. Arthur simply half-smiled.

"I rather like it. It is away from too many people and it's quiet…" he replied. I was laying out a tablecloth while listening to the two and letting the food simmer.

"Ah… So you are the peaceful and quiet type are you?… Perhaps I can give you a taste of proper society one day, sir…" I heard Lydia say and then laugh a little. Though I didn't think it was really a laugh… It sounded more like she put her fingers to her lips and made a 'mm-hum' sound. That was the most ridiculous way to laugh I had ever heard in my entire life.

"Maybe and maybe not. We shall see…" replied Arthur politely. He put down his tea. "Well the food should be ready soon, or so the chef tells me…" he said and I smiled a little. He was referring to me because he thought that I cooked well like one. Lydia made that 'mm-hum!' sound again, only this time, I could hear it a little more prominently than I did before as if she found that _really_ amusing.

"Do you refer to that odd girl wearing boy's clothes whom answered the door?" asked the young Lady Lydia. I scowled a bit. My dressing habits weren't odd, god damn it… I saw Arthur shrug.

"Yes, that would be her," he said, not even phased by the Lady's comment about how I dressed. She smiled slyly.

"But why should she wear such clothes? She seems pretty enough… well… for a commoner… but yes, pretty enough to wear a dress of some kind instead of the farm boy drab she wears now, don't you think Sir Kirkland?" she asked. I slowed down in my work and growled a bit, but not to the point where she could hear me. I wasn't entirely sure if Arthur heard me but he just blinked at her and quirked a brow.

"Well… she seems to fancy it… and she does outside work amongst the gardens, the fences, the horse stables and such and such, so she doesn't see any use in wearing a dress…" he said. He came to understand my view on the clothes department eventually when I started in outside work as well as inside. And often my jobs got me filthy. But Lydia all the same gasped.

"Dear me, outside work? A woman isn't made for that, how cruel sir!" she did that stupid little giggle again. "She should only be made to cook and clean and that is all. Besides, where could she ever get those clothes without going into town and buying them with her next wages and looking strange? I surely would have noticed her. I have a very sharp eye." she leaned back into the armchair. Arthur looked to the side.

"I don't pay her for work…" he said.

"What…? She works for free?" she said, blinking and quirking a brow suspiciously. Arthur nodded.

"Yes… I will occasionally give her money to give her a break from work but overall I do not pay her for work. Those clothes are not bought…. They are mine…" he sighed. I resisted the urge to laugh at Lydia's face. She gasped again, dramatically and put her hands to her mouth. She glanced from me to him, me to him multiple times before smiling awkwardly and regaining composure, clearing her throat. But she didn't make the rough, uncaring '_Ah_-_Herm_!' sound that I made. She made more of a high-pitched, flitty '_A-hem_' sound as if she wasn't really clearing her throat but looking for attention. Was she being this prissy on _purpose_…?

"Well erm… how… quaint… But, you might want to hide that particular fact on your servant… Many people would suspect something quite scandalous…" she said in an annoyingly soft voice, as if being worried for his reputation, which I knew she wasn't… She was just trying to impress him. I was getting irritated… Now she was not only commenting on my reputation (of which I could care less), but on _Arthur's_ too?

I growled. Arthur apparently saw my face and how angry I was getting because he cleared his throat and stood.

"Excuse me… I will be back…" I heard him go to me and felt him put a hand on my shoulder softly. "Calm down, Anne…" he whispered to me. I could feel Lydia's eyes burning upon us, whether in anger or amusement, I knew not. I only knew that she was staring. "Pretend that she is not there… Ignore her…"

Grunt. That was my only reply.

He sighed and walked back to his armchair.

"Apologies," he said to Lydia as he sat back down. Lydia was leaning back into the armchair with a sly smile on her face.

"Quite alright, sir…" she replied. Her eyes flicked from me back to him. "So… what was that all about then, hm?"

"What do you mean?" he asked with a furrowed brow. "I simply needed to have a small word with her…" he tapped the tips of his fingers on the edge of the sofa. Lydia chuckled again and looked at him, playing with the folds of linen on her dress.

"Well… you seem very attentive to her in particular… I have seen many servants walk around during the time I have been sitting here… But the only one you seem to pay attention to is… What is her name again?… Amy? Annie? Whatever her name is…" she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with a laughing gleam in her eyes and a smirk on her face. "Tell me… Are you fond of her, Sir Kirkland?" Arthur blushed.

"Not… in that way… No…" he murmured. I too got a little red in the face, but not flustered. I was angry.

"Hmm… I see…" she crooned as if she did not believe a word. They talked a little longer about other things while I set the table up with silverware. My brother Alfred scampered in like the exuberant boy he was and went to me to ask me a question. I smiled down at him and answered it. I held in a laugh from Arthur's irritated look at Alfred and gave my brother some parchment and a quill to write or draw with. I watched him run off happily but my moment of reverie was broken by the voice of Lydia.

"Well, well, that boy seems like he'd be a handful around here, hmm? No doubt he spends too much time with servants and not in proper-" A loud, metallic _bang!_ resounded in the room and made both Lydia and Arthur flinch. I made that sound. I had slammed one of the silver plates down on the table and whirled around. I put on a mock smile and stepped over to Lydia, bowing sarcastically.

"Yes, Lady! What a clever Lady! You have figured out _everything_," I sneered. "I am having an affair with Sir Arthur Kirkland, my _caretaker_, at age 15 while my younger brother just _such_ a deprived little boy, that he smiles and runs all day. So, therefore he _must_ be in want of being away from us _commoners_. _Well_ _done_…" I clapped in a snide applause. "Now, if you two will excuse me, I'm going for a horse ride. I am sick of the stuck-up snob's mouth!"

"A-Anne!" I heard Arthur call out, but I ignored him. I stormed out the door and went to ride on Geth, getting as much pleasure as I could from seeing Lydia's jaw-dropped expression.

* * *

The coming-home was unexpected. I rode back to the Kirkland manor after I had cooled down from my earlier outburst and sighed as I saw the place again. For all I knew, that blonde poodle could've still been over there when I got back. But I had to return sometime… I dismounted Geth and led him by the reigns to the stables. I took my time in taking off his saddle and bridle, washing him down, then brushing him. Afterwards, I walked back to the house. To my surprise, I heard no talking. I heard footsteps in the living room though, so obviously someone was there. I went in and saw Arthur walking away from the table… And it originally had only two plates. Now there was another plate on the table. I saw Lydia no where. I looked at Arthur to see him smirking over his shoulder at me.

"… She is not so fond of me anymore…" he said before walking away. "You might want to fill the plates, Anne." I looked at the table and blinked as I understood what he meant; the three plates were for Arthur, Alfred, and myself. No Lady Lydia Chamberlain. I smiled a little as I looked at the table and then I went to the kitchen, stopped, and threw my head back in a hearty laugh.

Alfred explained the details later when he ran to where I was filling the plates with food and I listened with interest.

* * *

"A-Anne!" Arthur called out to me and flinched when I slammed the door. He sighed and put down his tea, shaking his head and murmuring softly. "… Such a hot temper…"

"Well!… Did I ever meet such a rude, impossible and disagreeable girl in all my life!" Lydia huffed. Arthur looked straight at her with an annoyed look.

"If there is one thing I must say to you, Lady… I shall say it now…" he stood up. Lydia quirked a brow and stood slowly.

"Yes, Sir Kirkland?" she inquired. He looked her dead in the eyes.

"I can see why she called you stuck-up…" he commented with little to no remorse. Lydia turned red in the cheeks and pursed her lips, glaring at him.

"Hmph!" she huffed. "You are no less rude than _she_ is!" she barked and turned, storming to the front door and opening it, then shutting it as she made her quick departure, never to return again. And that was for certain.

When she left, Arthur had smirked in satisfaction and walked to the kitchen.

**So there it is! Chapter four will be out soon. Not sure if it will be during this weekend or not though. :I I have schoolwork to do. Geometry, Advanced English and such... But I promise that it will be out as soon as possible. Maybe on Monday the 25th or Tuesday the 26th. We shall see! :)**


	4. Chapter 4: Womanhood

**FINALLY! The fourth Chapter is finished! Now for my quick rant...**

**IMSORRYIDIDNTFINISHTHISSOONE RSCHOOLWORKWASBRUTALPLEASEDO NTKILLMEITSHEREIGOTITDONEITJ USTTOOKMEALONGLONGTIME! Okay I'm good. ANYWHO, here is the chapter I promised. At most, the next chapter shall be done a week from now.**

****Disclaimer** I don't own the anime. I only own A.J.**

**Chapter 4: Womanhood**

I stood outside, sweat moistening my skin and making my white shirt cling to me. I let out small breaths as I swung the hatchet with my arms, chopping blocks of wood for firewood or building. I wiped the sweat from my brow and half smiled, standing tall (for what I thought) and looking up at the sky above. My long, wavy, wayward and brown hair billowed a bit in the breeze, some strands flitting over my green eyes and tan-ish face from being out in the sun all the time. I had grown up into a woman of nineteen with a small, but lean form, but with more prominent muscle than most, since I worked like this most of the time. But these were only comments that I had heard from other people. I wasn't sure whether to believe it myself… I had noticed no great change in my appearance. I was still the same Anne.

"Good work today, Anne…" I heard a British voice say. I turned to see the full-grown Arthur. He was a young man now. Still sunshine blonde, still green-eyed, and still with the ridiculously funny-looking thick brows, but he was different in attitude towards me lately. He was very attentive and always making sure that I was alright. I was glad for it, because it made me feel important… It always had.

I turned to him with a tomboy smile and wiped the sweat away from my neck, then set the blade of the hatchet into one of the remaining pieces of wood.

"Thanks, Arthur… Where ya been hiding today, hmm?" I asked him. I already knew though. If I was not here to work for him in return for shelter, then most likely I'd be in the cool too. He held something in his hand that I couldn't see because the sun was directly behind him.

"Inside. It's hot today," he chuckled slightly. He was right. It _was_ hotter than usual, which was why I kinda wanted to be inside. When I was able to see him clearly, I could see that what he was holding was a glass of water. He smiled and handed it to me. "Why don't you take a breather for a while?"

"Heh… Thanks…" I said gratefully and gladly took the glass from his hand, taking a long, refreshing drink of water. Arthur smiled a bit and then gazed away from me to the stables, where a teenage Alfred was cleaning a pen. I looked the same way he was and watched. "Anything on that mind of yours, 'sir'?" I crossed my arms and smiled sideways.

"Mm… Wondering where time went… For the both of you…" he said and looked at me. I chuckled.

"Heh… Yes… Things are always cuter when they're little…" I said in a joking way, as I usually did around him. Whenever he said something, I could almost always find some way to be sarcastic or joke around about it. So it was unexpected when he turned to me without so much as a chuckle.

"No… I do not agree…" he said, his eyes not leaving me. I paused for a little while, then cleared my throat and looked down.

"Well, okay then…" I said quietly, my voice wavering just a bit. My thoughts were broken when Alfred ran over with a wide grin spread across his face.

"Hey! Anne! Arthur! Can I go ride for a little bit? I'm done with the work I was set to do," he said, panting from running over, eagerly waiting for the answer.

"Why shouldn't you?" I said, shrugging. I didn't care if he went out to ride, not as long as he didn't do anything stupid. I nodded to him. "I think it's alright, but really it is Arthur's choice, as he is the one running the place at all."

"I would think it would be alright," Arthur said with a nod. Alfred nodded without another word and ran back to the stables with the quickness of a rabbit. I could only wish he worked just as fast. I chuckled to myself at the thought. Arthur cleared his throat and I looked up at him. He was holding his arm out for me to take hold of so that we may walk. I laughed.

"Really? You're offering your arm to one of your servants?" I chuckled. He shrugged and smiled.

"Why not? I have known you longer than most," he replied with. I crossed my arms and paused as if to think about it, then shrugged, taking his arm in both my hands.

"Fair enough." With that, we began to walk around and talk a bit, just to pass the time, no longer minding the heat of the day that we had previously been talking about. Instead we talked of more fond things, memories.

"You remember when you were upstaged in strength by Alfred? Oh wait, you still are…" I snickered. An anger mark pulsated on Arthur's forehead.

"Oi…! You aren't ever going to let me live that down are you?" he said. I snickered.

"Nope." I chuckled at some point in our talk. "God I never thought we'd become nostalgic, especially not you," I said, nudging his side a bit with my elbow. He paused as he gave me his stern glare, but then he slowly softened his look and smiled before just shrugging and walking away. He could not stay angry with me for long.

"Anne!" I heard my name be called by my brother and he once again came running over, leading Arthur to quickly unlink arms with me. I looked at Alfred with a quirked brow and walked over.

"What's wrong, Alfred?" I asked him. Alfred pointed to the stables.

"Bane is sick!" he said in a somewhat loud voice, as he generally did. I twitched a bit at it and I went over to the stable he'd pointed to.

"Let's have a look then…" I said. I saw Bane lying on the ground breathing softly and I quirked a brow, looking at Alfred.

"I tried to get him to stand up but he just wouldn't!" he complained. I sighed.

"Please be a little quieter, Alfred… Did you clean out his pen?" I asked as I walked inside the stable. I was going to check to see if there was anything that might have made Bane sick. Alfred shrugged.

"Yes… Why?" he asked, blinking. I checked way in the back, where normally a horse would feed on hay. I looked there and picked up yellowed hay, damp and a little moldy. I wrinkled my nose and sighed turning to Alfred and going to him with the hay.

"Because it seems you missed a spot," I said. Alfred blushed, embarrassed and smiled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. He chuckled nervously.

"Well… I guess I might have missed a few places…" he murmured. I rolled my eyes and face palmed.

"This would be why Bane is sick. Old hay like this needs to go, otherwise he eats it and ends up like this… I'm just glad this was the only stable you were set to cleaning, otherwise there'd be even more sick horses. Give me an herbal poultice… He needs to take some so he'll get better… And then when you give me that, you can ride Geth while I clean up the places you missed here…" I said to him calmly. Alfred nodded and ran off to get the herbal poultice I asked for. Meanwhile, I kneeled down and started picking up the old hay clumps that he didn't clean up, sighing. In my peripheral vision, I could see someone lean down to help me and I looked over to see it was Arthur. "You don't need to help me, you know…" I said.

"I want to," he said firmly. I quirked a brow, debating whether I should argue with him, then shrugged, deciding I didn't feel like it right now. As we grabbed for the hay clumps we got closer to each other until we bumped heads with one another.

"Ow," I muttered as I rubbed my head, looking up at him. He put a hand over his with one of his eyes squinted almost closed.

"Sorry…" he apologized awkwardly before we leaned down, getting the last of the hay. I picked up the last clump and smiled.

"There. Not that hard-" I cut off when I looked up and mine and Arthur's faces were extremely close to one another's. I blushed a lot, but neither of us seemed to be moving away. He too turned red in the cheeks as we gazed at each other for what seemed like a few minutes but was, in reality, just a few seconds. I saw just how much of a deep green his eyes were. I also never noticed the hard and soft swimming in them all at the same time, as if he wanted a friend or someone to be close to, but was to proud too show it, and so tried to hide. It took a while before we noticed our faces were only a couple of inches from one another. Then and only then did we finally back away. "S-Sorry…" I stammered out slightly, looking away from him.

"N-No, it's alright…" he said also looking to the side, blushing a little.

"A-herm!" we heard from behind us. Both of us turned to see Alfred with his arms folded across his chest, a smirk planted on his face as our faces became red with embarrassment. "Am I interrupting something?" he teased. I growled.

"Be quiet, Alfred!" I grumbled.

"Stay out of other's businesses!" Arthur barked at him. Alfred didn't seem affected though. He simply chuckled and gave me the herbal poultice.

"As per your request, my lovebird sister," he snickered. But before I could make a comment, he walked away to Geth, put on his saddle and bridle, mounted him, and rode off. I sighed and shrugged my shoulders, looking at Arthur.

"Well err… I suppose I'll ride for a little bit too…" I said awkwardly. The real reason I was saying that of course was because I wanted to avoid that strange moment we just had, but I wouldn't tell him that. Before that, we'd had many awkward moments similar to it. But this one seemed even more strange somehow. For reasons I knew not, this one actually made me uneasy. Now all I needed to decide was whether it made me uneasy in a good way or a bad way.

After I gave Bane the poultice, I patted his cheek. I stood up and walked around the stables, taking Marigold and setting her up with a saddle and bridle before opening the gate to the fields outside. I mounted her and rode away from the Kirkland manor fast through grassy, brown land racing against the wind and wanting to travel to Earth and sky's end. I smiled and let the air whip my hair behind me and blow against my face and through my clothes.

For a moment it was just me, free as any soul could ever hope, running away from time itself. But soon after, a second set of hoof beats thundered behind me. I quirked a brow and looked over my shoulder to see Arthur following right behind me on the back of Blacktail. He grinned at me and laughed, catching up right beside me and looking at me challengingly. I smirked back and whipped the reigns.

"Hyah!" I rode ahead of him. Normally I would just have a race with nothing but myself, but now I was racing with Arthur and watching as we both tried to get ahead, but in the end we were neck and neck, just riding to nowhere. We ended up in the forest part of the land, riding fast through the trees and blurring through the growth, only getting glimpses of each other in between.

Slowly the growth became smaller, until we reached an empty path in which what blocked us was a river flowing steadily. Arthur turned to me when we came to a stop and smirked a little.

"I'm pretty sure I beat you," he said in a proud voice as if triumphant. I smiled coyly at him.

"So you think," I replied mischievously and whipped the reigns. "Hyah!" I rode across the river slowly, making sure I stayed on the saddle and that my feet were locked into hold as Marigold crossed. Slowly and carefully, with a soft bray, Marigold climbed up onto the other shore. I turned to wait for Arthur to see how well he would do in the same situation.  
Arthur rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue twice, making Blacktail gallop fast towards the river unexpected to him. Blacktail was actually Alfred's horse and so responded to different commands. But I guess Arthur didn't think about that, because when he got to the river, he fell off and cried out, his hands releasing the reigns. Blacktail meanwhile, galloped out of the river without his rider. Arthur surfaced and spat water out of his mouth and coughed, simply soaked.

"_OH, BLOODY HELL!_" he cursed and growled. I burst out laughing with heart and I dismounted Marigold, walking over. "Be quiet!" he barked at my laughing but I wasn't phased by it. I just calmly walked over with a smirk and waded through the river until I was in front of him, then held out my hand to him as if to help. He held out his, but just as he was about to grab my hand, I dunked it into the river, then swiftly brought it back out, splashing him in the face with more water.

"Beat that!" I snickered and grinned. But I cried out when Arthur suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me into the freezing cold river with him. He laughed hard and pointed at me.

"Challenge accepted!" he said and I grinned back at him, tensing my muscles, ready to go.

"… Oh, it's on." I lunged at him and so began a wrestling match in the waters of the river between me and him. We rolled around, splashing at each other and chucking each other into the deeper parts. Both of us were soaked, but still we just played around, fooled about. Never did Arthur do this except when no one else was around save for me. Otherwise, he went back to the calm and composed Englishman he was. Personally, I liked this side of him much better. It was more fun that way.

As we rolled around in the water in a playful tussle with each other, we moved so much that we ended up close to shore at some point. He lunged at me, pinning me to the shore and chuckling a little, since now I couldn't move… Or rather, _wouldn't_ move… The top halves of us were surfaced while our legs were still in the water. He and I panted a little from moving so much and neither of us would move out of the position we were in. I just stayed there beneath him, even when his grip on my wrists lessened.

As it turned out, he wasn't so sure about moving either. He stared into my eyes, his breaths returning to normal as mine did too. His eyes seemed to cloud a bit and he slowly leaned down to me. I blushed and my eyes widened a little at what I was pretty sure he was going to do.

"Err… Should we… Get up?…" I said, my voice cracking. I honestly did not mind the thought of kissing him, but at the same time I was nervous about it, as I'd never been kissed before at all. Many a boy I've passed did want to kiss me, but I'd find some way to deter them. It never felt right for some reason. And even though right now I was trying to avoid it, it was not because it didn't feel right, it was because it _did_. Arthur paused for a moment to process my words but he shook his head.

"Not yet…" he whispered. That was new and unusual… I remained red in the face and my breath hitched, my heart beat so fast it could have stopped at any moment, and I did not want to move at all. I was _letting_ it happen. He leaned in closer and closer until I could feel his heart; it was racing just as fast as mine was. I could feel his breath on my lips; his lips were just centimeters away from my own. I could hear the blood roaring in my ears. Slowly, I felt myself leaning up towards him too, until the gap between us was closed. He pressed his lips a little harder to mine when I did that and wrapped his arm around my waist while I snaked my arms about his shoulders.

It was then that I realized why I had deterred all those other boys; I had always had my eye on this one.

* * *

As I laid in my bed, remembering that day, my right hand came up to my mouth, touching my lips lightly and sat there. I shut my eyes gently, trying to remember the feel of that, but being unsuccessful in my attempt. So I sighed and slipped my fingers away from my lips, laying my hand down at my side, staring at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep for most of the night.

It was only when my nostalgic mind slowed to a stop that my eyes let the heavy hands of sleep lower their lids shut. As usual, dreams of my past would plague my head and no doubt it would all happen in one or two hours, by that point adding one to the count of sleepless nights I've had.

**There we have it. Chapter 4. WASN'T DAT CUUUUTE? 3 3 XD anyways, I have resorted so that fanfictioners wont get angry with me for not posting chapters to making a facebook page for you guys to visit and check for updates. :3 Go check in my profile to see it.**

**Be sure to check it out while I get Chapter 5 done! At most it should be done a week from now. See ya! :)**


	5. Chapter 5: The Call to War

**CHAPTER 5 IS HERE! -trumpets- anywhoozles, I have posted finally! Here it is! Enjoy it! Be sure to check out my profile and like my facebook page while your at it. That way you can get updates and pictures and statuses on my story progress. Enjoy!**

**WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MILD SENSUALITY. PLEASE BE MATURE ABOUT IT.  
**

****Disclaimer** I own no one except A.J.**

**Chapter 5: The Call to War**

I walked around mine and America's house, wincing when I moved the wrong way and got a scar acting up. Most of them were completely healed but they still hurt, so I just tried to deal with them as best I could. No one knew about me because I didn't bother to go outside. One, because America was the one who did that. Two, because no one would accept the fact that there was a mark-covered girl walking around, so I just stayed inside.

At the moment, I was waiting for America to come home, just walking around the house and yawning of boredom. I looked to the side and sat on the couch lazily, getting the remote and turning on the TV. Yep, I was just that much of a bum. But when I flipped through channels, I could find nothing aside from random cartoons, news feeds (would have watched if there was some _good_ news on it), porn (which I tried to flip through as quickly as possible. That was the last thing I wanted to think of at the moment), or the general commercials that lasted twenty friggin' minutes. When I unfortunately could find nothing to watch, I pressed the 'off' button on the remote, watching the screen flicker to black. Then I stood up, flipping my old hunting knife around in my hand and muttering things to myself.

"Wow… 900 channels on TV and there is _nothing_ on… Seriously?" I said, rolling my eyes and walking away back to my room where I previously was. I shut the door quietly and looked around the dark place before putting my hunting knife back into its leather pouch. I circled around in there for a while, the crunch of news clippings beneath my feet reaching my ears occasionally. I would also sometimes stumble over an article of clothing I didn't bother to put into the hamper that was just in the corner of my room.

I sighed and decided maybe I should clean up a few things. I kneeled down to the floor and picked up some shirts and jeans along with the occasional underwear (T.M.I?) and put it into the hamper, slowly being able to see the tan carpeting of the floor. I hadn't seen it a long damn time. I saw a bright shade of red amongst the greens, whites and blacks and I quirked a brow, moving away news clippings to see a long coat with golden tassels on the shoulders and buttons all along its edge of the same shade. It was a soldier's coat from a long time ago, torn on some edges and stained with some dark spots that I was never able to get off. I stared at it for a long time, then reached down to it, picking it up and putting it on my lap, pushing up my glasses over the bridge of my nose so I could get a better look. After a while of gazing, all at once, my eyes shut and I was flooded by the past.

* * *

It had been a few weeks, a month, two months, ever since my first kiss with Arthur, hell I didn't know. I didn't keep good track of it. In between this time and that, he and I shared many more kisses and warm embraces, some being at wrong times, one of which being a time where Alfred had walked in. My back was touching the wall and Arthur was kissing me pretty hard when that happened… I still remembered Alfred's laugh when he saw us lip-locked… I blushed at the mere memory.

I noticed a few things though in which Alfred had no room to talk. After the day Arthur and I kissed, Alfred began to ride out more often, rarely to be seen around the manor. I also discovered while riding on a dirt road, to my left side where a field stood, Alfred was walking with a pretty girl and talking to her as they did so. I could see even from a distance the light blush on his face. But to my credit, I rode Geth quietly away so as to let those two be, letting myself wonder what the girl's name was. It seemed that I was not the only one…

I was inside, dusting off the counters while Arthur was gone, waiting for someone to come home as usual. After about two hours, I heard the small creak of the door and footsteps following it. I looked over to see who it was and saw Arthur. I was pretty sure Alfred was out talking to the mystery girl. I turned to Arthur and smiled halfway, nodding to him.

"Back so soon? Where were you?" I asked sarcastically. He had taken a lot longer than I had expected. He smiled a little back and walked over to me.

"Miss me that much?" he smirked and he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, before leaning in and kissing me softly and quickly. I smiled at that and he hugged me with gentleness as if not wanting me to break, but close to him as if to shield me from another who might want to snatch me away. I shut my eyes and nuzzled into his hug, not moving an inch.

"There you go, thinking you're so damn charming…" I murmured to him and chuckled, my eyes trailing down to the floor so as to hide the red in my cheeks. But he must've saw it before it happened because he tilted my chin up and kissed me again for a longer and slower moment than he did when he first came in. Then after what seemed like a while, he pulled away and smirked slightly.

"You think I am… I can see it, and that's all that matters to me…" he said while tracing his thumb across the edge of my bottom lip. I smiled a little and looked to the side while he did that.

"You are so full of it…" I whispered and chuckled putting my hands on his shoulders and looking up at him with a crooked, tomboy smile.

"Oh, am I now?" he said and leaned in to kiss my jaw but I backed off and smirked.

"Ah, ah, ah… Nope. Not today," I said and smiled. "You didn't answer my question."

"What question, I don't remember a question," he said teasingly, and I knew he remembered, he was just being a pain in the ass like usual. With that he leaned in and planted a couple of kisses on my jaw before I pulled away again.

"Staaahhp," I grumbled and rolled my eyes, still half smiling. He pouted for a minute then shrugged, showing he was just teasing before he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "So why were you so late?" I asked him.

"Sidetracked on the way back. I saw some recruiters in the town while I was riding," he replied. I quirked a brow.

"What did they want?" I asked him. Recruiters? I didn't know anything about this. All I knew was that recently a lot of Englishmen were making settlements in Canada. I knew that they wanted more land than what they already had. But recruiters?

"Well the French obviously don't like what the army has been doing lately… They have made a pact with the Indians and have declared war upon us. They are gathering up every willing man to fight-"

"And what of a willing woman?" I said, turning to face him. For a long, long time I had always wondered what it would be like to fight in battle, to run into the charge, a battle cry resounding in my throat, to hold a musket in the crooks of my arms, bayonet readied. I also understood that Arthur had fought some great many times. I wanted to learn from him. But he just blinked at me and quirked a brow.

"… Why do you ask that?" he said with skepticism laced in his voice. I shrugged and looked at him.

"What does it sound like? Have you enlisted in the army?" I asked him. He shrugged after a pause.

"Yes but… what has that got to do with any of this?" he inquired, seeming awkward in the midst of it.

"Haven't you deciphered it already? The only place I've ever known is here, and you've shown me how to use arms and defend myself, but against what? A dog?" I said. "I want to fight with you. You've taught me how to fight and now I want to put it to use in the army. I want to enlist." A long silence ensued before Arthur shook his head.

"No, Anne," he answered seemingly with no effort. I narrowed my eyes a little in confusion and blinked.

"But-" I began but he stopped me.

"No," he said sternly.

"Why not?" I asked defiantly and crossed my arms, staring at him with determined eyes. Arthur sighed and looked to the side.

"Look Anne, first of all, the army is only enlisting _men_. Women aren't allowed to fight. And even if you _were _allowed, I _still_ wouldn't let you," he stated. I was beginning to become irritated now.

"And why wouldn't you? I have just as much right to fight as you. It's land for both me and you and you know what I am capable of, right? So why can't I?" I argued. I wasn't going to back down on this. Arthur growled slightly.

"Anne, this whole conversation is senseless and I won't continue it. You can't fight in the army, you won't fight in the army, you won't enlist and that is final," he said walking away to his room. When his door was shut I placed my hands on my hips and narrowed my gaze even more. At that point, if one had been looking at me, they would have known exactly what I was thinking.

"You won't get rid of me _that_ easily."

I had decided to try a few methods of convincing Arthur to let me into the army with him. I didn't think he could tell that I was secretly plotting ways to join the ranks, whether he liked it or not. I had decided to bide me time and wait some few days in between my asking him to go. I'd try to put it gently at first. Hint on it. Bribe him maybe. I waited maybe four days after our banter before to ask, then finally I went to him.

"Hey, Arthur!" I called out to him and I walked away from the stables to him. He turned to me and nodded, smiling sideways a little as he looked at me.

"Hullo," he said and kissed my cheek when I walked over. I walked with him and smiled, waiting a few minutes.

"So… I was thinking… Did America ever ask you about the enlisting?" I asked him. "Because he's a boy old enough to go in so I wondered if he'd decided to go."

"Well, yes," he said to me, not suspecting so far what I was implying. I decided to step a little closer into the issue and I listened to the sound of the dirt being crushed beneath my feet. I suspected America was able to go and I decided I would get him there.

"So… Did you let him?" I asked subtly.

"No I didn't let him and I won't let you so stop trying to convince me…" he said bluntly before walking away. I meanwhile was left to stand there dumbstruck.

After a long puzzled silence, I stomped away growling curses under my breath.

Plan A: Subtly inquire was defeated. I waited a week for my next move. I also made sure that during the week, I would say absolutely nothing about the enlisting and also reject Arthur's teasing me during that time to frustrate him. I knew that would make Plan B more effective. I bide my time again and was patiently waiting for my moving in. Arthur went out early in the morning at the end of the week and came back a little later. It was a bit cold out at the time, raining a little I believed because when he came inside, he was somewhat damp. Score.

He trudged inside and sighed, taking off his gloves and hanging them up before walking into the living room, his hair clinging to his face a little. I went to him and helped him to take off his coat, which I could feel was wet. Mother Nature was on my side so far. I looked at him with a quirked brow.

"Raining out today, hmm?" I said hanging up his coat while he rubbed a hand on the back of his neck.

"A little… Not too badly," he replied, looking over at me. I shrugged and went to him.

"Wanna sit down? If it's raining, riding was probably a pain," I said and walked with him over to the armchair and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you…" he sighed and sat down still rubbing his neck and shoulder. I smiled smugly to myself before going to him from behind and putting my hands on his shoulders, rubbing them thoroughly and slowly.

"Tense are we?" I said in a soft tone. His muscles hardened at first at the unexpected touch then slowly relaxed as he felt what I was doing. I saw his fingers slowly lie flat against the arm of the chair instead of clenched into tight fists like they were a second ago. He shut his eyes and sighed softly as I pressed my fingers on his shoulders, neck and the upper part of his back. He was enjoying this. Good. That's what I was aiming for.

"Mm…" he sighed again and slowly opened his eyes again to look up at me. "You are an angel…" he chuckled a little and I finished rubbing his shoulders and instead flattened my palms over them, then slipped them down over his chest then back up again, over his neck and through his hair.

"Am I, really?" I said in a teasing voice and stepped over to the side of the chair, looking at him. I leaned my head in my hand while sliding my hand from side to side on his back, looking at him with a half-lidded gaze. He smiled a little and held out his arm and put it around my back, leading me closer to the chair.

"Come here…" he whispered and I sat on his lap in the armchair before I laid my hands on either side of his face. Then I slipped my arms around his shoulders and planted a long, warm kiss on his lips. He shut his eyes and wrapped his arms around my waist and back, bringing me closer into the kiss and pressing his lips harder to mine. I almost forgot exactly why I was doing this, but I tried not to. I had a cause for this, this wasn't mindless. FOCUS, Anne.

He tangled his fingers in my hair as we kissed and I pulled away after a long while, leaning down and brushing my lips over the nape of his neck. I heard Arthur's breath hitch a bit before he whispered in my ear.

"You little minx," he murmured softly. I smiled and pulled away from his neck and laid his head against my collarbone.

"Don't you wish I could be this close to you when you go off to the ranks?" I said softly, running a hand through his hair. Bad move… I could've sworn that the warm air around us just froze. It was only then that I'd realized Arthur's hand had stopped moving on me. His eyes narrowed and he put his hands on my waist, gently standing me back up and in turn getting off the chair and walking away.

"Good God, woman…" I heard him mutter before he went to his room, leaving me to stand there and sigh with irritation.

So much for Plan B: Feminine Charms - epic failure.

There was no choice. I had to resort to my last and final method; Plan C: Total Deception and Defiance. I knew now that I could not convince Arthur. He had a soul of steel and so it was near impossible to convince him of letting me into the army. Therefore, I would instead sneak past him from right under his nose. I would let him think he won and then I would join the ranks while he least suspected me.

During the days that followed my former Plan's derailing, I set to work on my tasks. When Arthur was here, I would do my daily chores and speak nothing of the war that was to come. He was angry during the first couple of days but after a little while, he cooled off and all seemed normal. However, when he was gone, I would take whatever parchment I could find in the house and get forging on documents of identity. For the times I had seen Arthur tutoring Alfred when he was a child, before Alfred got another mentor for a job, I had seen Arthur teach about such documents, and so learned myself. I also was there when Arthur had gotten these official documents for Alfred, so I also knew who would sign it. I could forge the signature, the documents, everything.

While Arthur was at his desk, I snuck past him to Alfred's room, grabbing the documents and copying the signature with a quill. I was not so oblivious as Arthur must've thought. It came to mind that the documents needed to look old, so I crumpled them up, opened them, bit off the corners, dipped water on it and made it look like I had had it for a long, long time. After this, I hid them expertly. Arthur would _never_ find them, I was quite sure. But there was someone else I wanted to bring with me to the enlisting.

One night, I waited for Alfred to arrive home, sitting at the front door of the manor for a couple of hours. The stars had appeared and the moon had risen into the sky when I saw The rusty-colored body and dark mane of Blacktail, Alfred's horse with Alfred on his back. Only when I was sure did I run to him with bare feet to be silent.

"Anne? What are you doing up?" he asked with his loud voice.

"Shh! Be quiet. Arthur's asleep… Follow me and be quick and _silent_," I emphasized that he must be quiet for any of this to go well. Alfred quirked a brow in a confused way, but dismounted and followed me as I had asked him. I took his hand and dragged him to a silent spot, a little ways away from the manor.

"What is this about?" he asked. I grinned.

"You wanna fight don't you? You asked Arthur to enlist didn't you?" I inquired. He blinked and looked at me.

"Yeah, but he said no," he answered. I nodded.

"Exactly… Well… I know how to get in. I wanna fight too. I know how we can get into the ranks quick and easy," I said and smirked. Alfred looked at me like I had gone absolutely insane.

"Anne, you're a girl… They aren't gonna let you in. I can understand how you'd be able to get me in, but it's way too risky with you. The army is full of men and if they find out you're a girl…" he shuddered and trailed off.

"Alfred, I may be a woman, but if I choose, I can have the heart of a man and you know this to be true. I am going to disguise myself as a young man. It'll be easy. I already dress like a boy, I act like a boy, and I work like a boy. My hands are calloused and tanned from work. I forged documents of my identity-"

"What…?!" he exclaimed, but I clasped a hand over his mouth and shushed him.

"Again, he might hear us… Be quiet and listen. I know, what a concept, but please attempt," I said, rolling my eyes. "I forged documents. They have the signature of the man who signed yours a long time ago when Arthur took you to get them. I forged the signature of the same man and changed my name. My name is now Anthony Jolene, remember it-"

"Anne…! Arthur isn't excluding us because he doubts us, the army is excluding colonists in general… Even I wouldn't be able to get in, not because I'm not capable, it's because I'm not British," he tried to explain but I wouldn't have it.

"Alfred, I already know that. That's why I said our family comes from Longstreet, England," I grinned. Alfred's jaw dropped.

"Wait a minute… You forged my document too?!" he choked. I nodded.

"Not all of it. Just the spaces that had flaws, such as where we originate, your name and that kind of thing. Okay, now all we have to do is dress like we normally do, only I'm gonna need a long coat and a hat. If they ask you something, or talk to you, talk in a British accent. We aren't gonna give away that we are colonists. Got it?" I said. There was a long pause before Alfred grinned and chuckled.

"You're crazy… This is crazy… But it just might work. Got it," he nodded. I smiled and hugged him. It was hard to believe he was already taller than me and I was older.

"Thanks, little brother," I snickered. "Remember, don't give anything away to Arthur. We are pretending we are going to see him off. When he's gone, we will report to the ranks as the two Englishmen we signed up as." He did a thumbs up.

"On it," he said before standing and pulling me up with him.

"So now we'll rest easy… Until you need to say your farewell to that girl of yours," I said smirking.

"What the- _HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?!_"

The enlisting went easily. None of the soldiers noticed my feminine facial structure behind the collar of the long coat and the shadow of the hat. I signed my name, 'Anthony Jolene', gave them the documents, and when they bid me farewell, I tipped my hat and said in a deepened, English voice, "Good day to you, sirs."

Alfred almost had trouble. He had to wear a coat and hat too because a lot of people have seen him riding around the town, plus a lot of people know who Arthur is. However, the hat must've not hid enough of him, because a British soldier quirked a brow and walked to him.

"Have we ever met before?" he asked. I was proud of Alfred. He simply smiled and shrugged.

"I don't believe so," he replied in a British accent, turning and walking away nonchalantly. I followed behind, making a note to give him brownie points for that one. We were told where to report the next day and we were given our uniforms. They told us weapons could be either brought or they would be provided by the army. I simply nodded and loaded a saddlebag with the uniforms for Alfred and I, mounted the horse, and rode away back to the manor with Alfred following me. At that moment, I had never felt freer in my entire life. I smiled as I rode back to the manor.

Later in the day when I had changed back into my normal clothes, Arthur arrived back. I'd put away my long coat and hat, hid the uniforms and everything. I knew that the day after would be the day we'd all leave. But for now, I wouldn't give that away. I went to Arthur and talked with him like I normally did, flirted a little occasionally; what couple wouldn't?

"So was your day alright?" I asked him as we stepped across the hallway to his room, where he would sometimes let me in (unless he was doing working on his black magic, then I just stayed the Hell away). He shrugged and sat down with me.

"Fairly normal. Starting tomorrow it won't be," he replied and turned his deep green gaze upon me. I simply shrugged and looked up at him, like I wouldn't say anything about it. I hugged him softly and shut my eyes.

"You had better come back here in one piece you hear?" I said. I could hear Arthur chuckle a little at that as he hugged me and he lightly squeezed his arms a little tighter around me for a moment before he kissed my cheek lightly.

"I promise I will…" he whispered and we hugged a little longer, him rubbing his hand up and down my back before he laid me down and started to kiss me on the lips. I smiled into the kiss and laid my hands upon his cheeks. After a long while, we stopped and he got up slowly, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "I'm attempting to behave." He winked.

"Oh wow, and you had to pick the night where you have to leave tomorrow to get back at me…" I rolled my eyes and smiled. "Well, if that's how it is…" I got up and was about to walk out when Arthur grabbed my arm and pulled me back to him, planting a warm, soft kiss on my lips then pulling away.

"Goodnight," he whispered, then let go of me softly. I smiled and nodded.

"Goodnight…" I replied and I walked out of his room to mine.

As I entered my room, a smug smile played across my face.

**OOOOOHHH! The plot thickens. My next chapter, at max, shall be finished a week from now on 3/11/13. Also, it is MY birthday tomorrow!... Probably won't be typing! XD anywho, again visit my fanfiction profile to see the link to my Kethissfreak fb page. Check it out and I'll see ya soon!**


	6. Chapter 6: The Soldier's Beginning

**Good God, I am becoming so lazy! TT-TT well here's the chapter. Hectic week at school. Plus a lot of people asked for me to do favors for them. Anywho, I have the chapter here! I PROMISE that the next chapter will at the most be finished in a week and if I'm late, I'll let you know on my fb page of which you might find on my profile. Read well my friends!**

****Disclaimer** I own nothing, accept for Anne and the random characters that I might throw in briefly.**

**Chapter 6: The Soldier's Beginning**

The morning was a time to awaken for Alfred and me. We saw Arthur on his way and waved our goodbyes to him as he rode off as Colonel Kirkland, dressed in the red coat that marked him as a part of the British army. We simply watched as his horse galloped further and further away until he was completely out of sight. I crossed my arms and stood, listening for the sound of the hooves. I smirked when at last I could hear them no more.

At once, I ran into the manor with Alfred snickering. Alfred was also grinning.  
"Ha! He fell for it!" he shouted loudly and I grinned, for once, not minding his loudness. I didn't reply though. I was much too busy. I quickly ran up the stairs of the house and I saw the line of family portraits. I had cut a door into the wall behind the portrait of the wavy-haired, blonde boy that I saw when I had first arrived here. I still wasn't sure I liked the expression on his face…

Many times had I asked Arthur about the picture of him, asking who he was out of curiosity. But each time I had asked, his mouth twitched to form a scowl and he narrowed his eyes, simply saying, "He is no one…" I never believed him. But I let it alone. So the mysterious boy in the portrait was forever left a mystery, uninteresting and always representing an unknown nobody… But he was useful for something; he helped me hide the soldier's uniforms.

I took the portrait down from the wall and grinned, seeing the door I had made behind it. I opened the door to see a dark hole in the wall, dusty and unseen by human eyes until I cut it open. And inside were the bundles of red, gold and white. I snatched them out of the hallow hole in the wall and put the portrait back up, running back downstairs to Alfred, giving him his uniform.

"Quickly. Put it on," I said and went to a different room to put mine on. I put on the white pants, my black belt, the white shirt underneath, the black boots, and finally I took my time to observe the coat. The coat was scarlet red, with golden-shaded buttons and golden shoulder tassels. I smiled as I pulled it on, feeling the softness of the fabric, the pleasant weight of it upon my shoulders. I then put on the black hat that both colonists AND soldiers of Britain would wear, only this one was less drab as the brown or black leather hats that were worn by the colonists. I took my time to look into a mirror, seeing myself, at long last, in the wear of a soldier.

"Anne! You comin' yet?" Alfred called out from outside. I was started out of my reverie and I called back to him.

"Yeah, gimme a minute!" I stepped out the door and looked at him, only to be greatly surprised. He looked like a man. My younger brother was dressed the same as I, but he looked pretty sharp. He smiled a little when he looked at me and he snickered.

"As long as no one figures out you're a girl, they're just gonna think you're a short soldier," he snipped at me. That shattered everything I thought about him just a few moments ago. I growled and an anger mark pulsated on my forehead before I went to him and punched him in the arm. "Ow!" he rubbed his arm after that. "That hurt…"

"Quit your whining and get your horse. We're going to the ranks…" I walked outside. My punches on Alfred were painful a lot of the time. Arthur taught me well. I stepped over to the stables and saw Geth, the dark horse that I had gotten not so long ago it seems. Alfred meanwhile mounted Blacktail after we had saddled both the horses. I mounted Geth and rode with him away from the manor, faster than we had ever rode before. The wind blew into my face, my eyes, my hair, blowing it back along with the coat. Through a long ride, we went to go with the other soldiers, following the path that Arthur had been riding just a few moments ago.

A few days ride was what it took to get to the camp of soldiers readied for the battle and the many other long rides ahead. I had never seen so many tents in one place in my life, nor so many men, both young and old. No women (obviously) and all were dressed in soldier's uniforms like my brother and I. I was told we were to go to the quarters of the commander to see which company I would be in amongst the battalion. I snuck through the men sitting on the ground either writing letters or drinking to the commander's quarters. He didn't seem very interested in us. In fact, I didn't think he knew we were here and I was about to clear my throat until he spoke without looking up.

"Names?" he said. I swallowed the phlegm I was about to waste and I looked at him and nodded, remembering to deepen my voice and sound like an Englishman.

"Anthony Jolene and… Bentley Jones," I said. Alfred looked at me with a furrowed brow when I said his fake name. The commander flipped through pages of parchment until he found our names in the enlistments.

"Ah… Corporal Jones and Corporal Jolene…" he stated. I quirked a brow.

"Sir, shouldn't we be privates?" I asked. He looked up at me finally with practically emotionless eyes. They were a steel, silvery-blue color. And he had peppery hair that might have been dark when he was younger but was now gray with only a few black strands left. The lines on his mouth were few, as if he was not young but not necessarily old either. He could have been handsome as a youth, and probably handsome still to someone his age. But his eyes pierced like knives and it scared me._ If looks could kill..._

"You would have been…" he said. "… But some officers are somewhat more skilled than others… So we moved some officers to the rank of Corporal…" He put the parchment sheets of names back in order and then stepped over to us. I got a little nervous. His gaze looked like he could see right through me. Of course, I knew he could not. It just was hard not to worry about him noticing that the details of my face might not have been matching to a man's. But he passed over me.

"For the night, we'll stay here, but don't be surprised if we get moving in the ungodly hours of the morning. Muskets and other weapons, if not brought by you already will be provided by the officer of the guard…" I didn't listen to most of this. Alfred and I had gone into Arthur's weapons case, which had handguns mostly. But a musket would be nice. Arthur only had one and he took it. For a long time my brother and I just stood there, waiting for the commander to be finished speaking. It was a while before I heard the commander repetitively trying to get my attention and I turned my head.

"Corporal?" he said, giving me the look that said so far he wasn't impressed with me. I nodded as if I had done nothing wrong, but inside I was kicking myself.

"Yes sir," I said.

"Have I made myself clear to you?" he said. "Or are you going to make me go through the bloody thing all over again?"

"Very clear… Sir, if I may ask, who's line are we to go into?" the Commander gave me that uninterested and condescending look again before giving me another piece of parchment, showing the names in my company. I finally got to the Colonel who was going to be training and leading us. My heart stopped. My eyes gazed at the name for the longest time and I had to refrain from turning pale or gaping like a fish.

Alfred and I were going under the command of Colonel Arthur Kirkland. _Good God Almighty, help us all..._

* * *

I walked out of the commander's quarters after receiving all the information required of me to know, such as most of my tasks would consist of riding out dispatches and the grave news that I would be under Arthur's command. Alfred waited a while until we were out of earshot to turn his head to me and quirk a brow in a scrutinizing look.

"_Bentley?_" he said with a tone. I rolled my eyes.

"It's too risky for you to go by your real name," I whispered. Alfred crossed his arms as we walked and continued to stare at me.

"Yeah… but _Bentley_?" he scoffed. I lightly punched his arm and stared at him.

"Suck it up, soldier," I snickered and he laughed a little along with me. Together we went to the officer of the guard's tent to grab muskets and then go to the one we were assigned to sleep. Alfred didn't notice but I was less worried about us going to a tent full of men and more worried about the Colonel of our company. Alfred too was worried, but not so worried as I. Granted, at first, he gave me a look that told me he was going to kill me later for my crazy plan, but he shrugs it off faster than me.

We walked to our tent, stepping inside and putting down our things, about ready to take off our coats when one of the men sitting in there chuckled.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. You might as well just sleep in your clothes," said one of the British men. None of them yet noticed my figure, due to the fact I'd tied cloth tightly around my chest so as to make it look like I had none. I quirked a brow at the man. But before my brother could ask why, another one of the men who was sitting next to the previous one answered his question.

"We wake up sometimes in the still-dark hours of the morning and we barely have time to put a coat back on if we take it off the night before. And winter is creeping in… So if that's the case-"

"-then you can kiss your ass goodbye because you are going to freeze to death," the first soldier finished for him and all of them chuckled a little wickedly in amusement. I didn't expect the men to be like this… But then again I didn't expect them to be welcoming either. They were crude, but they were like me so I said nothing. I simply left my coat on and lied down in a bedroll. My brother sat down too but he decided to talk to the soldiers, minding his accent so he'd sound English.

"How long have you been here?" he asked the three of them. The third one, a middle-aged looking one, just grumbled lowly deep from his throat.

"I am in no mood for stupid questions…" he growled, lying down to sleep. By what I could tell from where I was lying, he looked very old. But by the yellow of his teeth, I also assumed he smoked, which was probably what made him look old. The lines on his face twitched as his mouth twitched into a scowl. The creases around his mouth looked like something I would've seen on a Saint Bernard dog and his hair was dark with slightly graying strands. The bags under his eyes were dark and droopy. I assumed he hadn't gotten any sleep in the past few days. This man was the complete opposite of the Commander I had met earlier.

"Get over! You're just angry because you never sleep," the second soldier said to the crabby one. The first two were younger than the third, but they were probably just a mite older than us. "We haven't been here long… A few weeks maybe." The first shrugged. "Hard to count the days when you could honestly get to caring less." The first one had the lines of an early twenty-year-old but gentle features that said he would not be so wicked or harsh as the second and third man. He had reddish-blonde, curly hair and a rather roundish face. If you had taken a first look at him, you'd think he'd be a cheerful and nice man. But here, he would not be. You could tell by his eyes, a light blue that looked a little sad (or maybe 'hopeless' is the word I was looking for). He was simply one of the fighting men and didn't think it made a difference whether he was kind or not.

"We just got here," Alfred said, shrugging back. He blinked when the other soldiers laughed.

"A'ight… Let's see how long you last, eh?" the second one grinned. The second was opposite of the first. He had messy, dark brown hair with dark brown eyes, malicious and tricky, like his main purpose in life was to show other people that there really wasn't anything to be living for other than to laugh at those beneath you. He had a square face and a crooked grin. I almost thought he was crazy with the way he chuckled at nearly everything, as he chuckled at Alfred and I.

"Will you bloody idiots quiet down?" growled the old, tired one.

"Deal with it, we've been awake too," replied the second soldier smirking. It was clear he had zero respect for his elders. He looked at Alfred from the bedroll. "We see new recruits everyday… And before we know it, the next day, they're gone…"

"We won't leave! You can count on it!" replied Alfred with his big mouth. I shut my eyes and sighed.

"We'll just have to see about that, won't we then?" said the arrogant soldier. "So who are you?" he asked Alfred. I gave my brother a hard stare when he opened his mouth to say 'Alfred'. So instead he replied with the last name and rank.

"Err… Corporal Jones…" he said. The soldier rolled his eyes.

"I could care less about your name and rank. Half the time we don't even use ranks we just use names. Now why don't you give me that, eh?" he crossed his arms. Alfred shrugged and replied after a bit.

"Bentley Jones," he said instead. The reddish-blonde soldier nodded and looked to the side.

"So you are one of the more useful enlistments then… And what about your mate there?" the soft-spoken one nodded in my direction and only then did I remember that I had said absolutely nothing ever since I had stepped in here. Alfred looked at me and then turned back to him.

"Corporal Jolene… Full name is A… Anthony Jolene in case you want to know," he shrugged. I refrained from sighing in relief when he remembered to refer to me as Anthony.

"Two useful enlistments… Us all sitting here are Privates. So is he your friend, what is he?" he asked. "Who are you to him?" he turned to me and pointed to Alfred. I looked at him but I didn't say anything for fear I would accidentally sound like a girl and blow the whole thing apart. He stared at me waiting for an answer. "You know, it's generally polite to answer someone when they ask you something…" I still said nothing. He looked at Alfred after a while. "He mute?"

"No. He just won't talk to anyone unless he knows you well…" he made up an excuse for me. "But if he could answer he would tell you that he's my brother…"

"Brothers…." the soldier said, shaking his head and sighing. "It's not a cheerful thing when your brother is in a war with you. You lose one, the other falls as well. You lose one man, if they have a brother on the battlefield, you're really losing two…"

"Sentimental bloke…" said the cocky one, as the grouchy, old one had finally fallen asleep. He grinned. "Charles always is going philosophical at the oddest times. You don't talk do you, Corporal?" he said to me. I looked at him but said nothing. He paused as he saw my face then snickered. "_Good God…!_ It's not a man, it's a _boy_!" he laughed. I quirked a brow.

"What are you going on about now, Stephen?" the reddish-blonde soldier named Charles said to the annoying twit soldier as I was starting to think of him, rolling my eyes. The soldier named Stephen laughed.

"That Corporal lying there, Charles! The clean-faced, skinny bloke! He looks more a _girl _to me!" he laughed. Thank God none of them noticed mine and Alfred's faces going pale and our muscles tensing. I looked at him and decided to talk, saving both mine and Alfred's butts.

"I'm only 15..." I said. Of course I was lying, that was five years younger than I actually was. I said it in a lowered British voice to them with disinterested eyes. They looked at me with quirked brows due to the fact I'd finally spoken.

"What'd your parents say about that, boy?" Charles said to me. They looked straight at me.

"… They didn't say anything… I don't have any…" I said back and then fell silent once again. They blinked as if in wait for another thing I'd say but shrugged when they realized I didn't plan to talk anymore. So they turned back to Alfred.

"So I take it you're the older of the two…." Charles said. Alfred nodded his head.

"Yes…" Alfred said. I almost laughed. In terms of my fake fifteen-year-old age, yes Alfred was supposed to be older than me. In reality, he was sixteen as well as in our disguise. However in reality I about four years older than he was. I just was rather short for my age, so I could pass off as being younger than I was. I could pass off as being either the same age as Alfred, Hell maybe a little younger than him. But I didn't care as long as the soldiers believed it, which by observation, I could tell they did.

"Well you had best hope that none of the other men decide to use your younger brother as their personal joke… He does look a little feminine even for his youth," Charles said before lying down to sleep. "Perfect example would be Stephen here." he referred to Stephen.

"Oi! I just like havin' a little fun with the new recruits. And to bloody hell with what you think!" he snickered and lied down, slovenly yawning and rolling on his stomach to sleep. There was a long silence before my brother spoke up once more to Charles.

"One question. You told us the soldiers could care less of ranks… Well we're in the army so why are you so touchy about us stating our ranks?" Alfred asked. Charles rolled his eyes.

"Perhaps we should've rephrased that… We don't call you by your rank until you _prove_ you're worthy to be called by the rank you were given. Otherwise you are just another foolish chap like the rest of us…" he said. With that, Charles turned on his side, shut his eyes, and fell asleep, leaving Alfred and I to sit in a long silence that would endure for, at the very most, three hours.

**Sorry that was kinda short... But fear not! It will get better! I'm sorry if the story seems to be going slowly. '3' Thanks for reading and my max deadline for the next chapter is 3/22/13!**

**~Kethissfreak**


	7. Chapter 7: The Fun Begins

**URMAGURD Finally! I'm out of school so I was finally able to finish this little heathen! Anyways, Chapter 7 is now officially, finally here and I am SOOOO sorry for the long wait. But here it is. Enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER:**** I own nothing and no one except the throw in characters, Charles and Stephen. I also own the main character Anne. THAT'S IT.**

* * *

**Chapter 7: The Fun Begins**

All of us went into the company the very next day in the most ungodly hour possible. It was still dark outside when we were awakened from our slumber by the sounds of soldiers yelling at each other to get up. Alfred and I groggily sat up while both Stephen and Charles got up with little to no effort. I was amazed at their clear will-power. I was about ready to get back to sleep. As I looked around, I saw that both Charles and Stephen were rolling up the blankets… But the third bedroll was missing. The middle-aged soldier must've awoken earlier than us, which was a surprise considering he got less sleep than we did. I groaned softly as I leaned down and rubbed my eyes. But Stephen kicked my leg.

"Well come on then! We got a company to get into. Though I'd happily leave you here if you like," he snickered at me and stepped out of the tent. Charles simply stood up and walked to the flap.

"It's best you both get up… The sleepers are generally left behind without second thought…" he said and walked out. With that, I hauled myself off the bedroll, rolled it up, carried it in my arm and went out to put it into one of the wagons outside. When I stepped out, cold air hit my face like a back-handed slap, making me squint and blink my eyes to keep them from watering. I looked around to see fires being put out despite the dark and cold, soldiers groggily walking out of their tents, some only just waking up and others still sleeping heavily unknowing of the fact that in just a few moments, they'd awaken later to realize they were all alone.

"Join with your companies according to your Colonel or Lieutenant Commander! Come on, get a move on!" I heard the Commander's voice thunder throughout the camp. I said nothing, despite the fact a horrid feeling of fright coursed through me at that very moment. Alfred too, I believe, stiffened next to me. Charles went to us.

"Well are you going to go find your company or not?" he said with an unimpressed look. I lifted my eyes to him and then looked at the soldiers finding their commanders. I looked at him.

"What company are you in?" I asked him. He nodded towards a figure a little ways off.

"Colonel Arthur Kirkland's… Both Stephen and I… I think Mortan is going to the company of Lieutenant Commander Heyworth. So we won't see much of him…" My heart flip-flopped again. Great, not only was I under Arthur's command I was also going to be under his command with these two men. Charles I didn't mind too much.

_Stephen_ however…

"Mortan?" I asked him with a quirked brow. Charles smiled a bit.

"The middle-aged man that was in the tent with us. The one who seemed a bit… off…" he said chuckling a little. I then remembered that soldier again, from the fact I saw his bedroll was gone. With that came another question.

"Did he get up earlier than we did?" Charles shrugged.

"Well I'd expect so… He always does generally, either because he really didn't get any sleep at all or he's a naturally early riser. I for one think it isn't the latter… Mortan is too grumpy to seem like he is getting any sleep."

"Why is he still a Private if he's graying? Shouldn't he be one of the senior officers if that's the case?" I inquired curiously. Charles looked at me with a skeptical eye.

"You ask too many questions…" he said. I shrugged.

"An unfortunate quirk I have. Please answer my last one and I just might not ask any more," I calmly stated. Charles suddenly laughed which was confusing.

"A soldier with manners… Who ever heard of a thing like that?" he asked himself. "Well, anyways, he joined the army only recently, for what reason no one really knows. He just showed up out of no where and enlisted. He doesn't talk to anyone except to grouse though. Nothing more. And this sounds like something Stephen would say, but just a bitter bloke like a lot of men here…" he said, walking away to the company. I followed behind him and joined in the same line as he.

"What are we doing now?" Alfred asked Charles.

"So many questions… Too many… We are getting our first step in training… Marching," he said.

"Then why are we bringing our belongings and weapons?" I asked. Charles at this point rolled his eyes and instead, the man named Stephen shoved himself on the opposite side of Charles, next to Alfred and I, and pitched in.

"_Well _there's two reasons, see! One, is so that you two can man up and get a taste of the journeys of soldiers, with packs, muskets and all, and see if 'we' in Arthur's perspective being his company also known as us and 'we' from my perspective being _you_, can handle it. Two is because we are moving out to a different position due to the fact a French battalion also seems to be moving into that direction. My guess is we'll evade them there, and when the company is ready, we'll finally see a battle and go back and bloody up every French bastard there is in that area," he snickered and slung his things over his shoulder, looking mighty pleased with himself. I almost rolled my eyes but I heard Arthur's voice ring over the company from the horse he was riding at the front of it.

"_ATTEN-TION!_" he cried and immediately, every man in the company shut up. There was a pause and the other company commanders cried out as well to order their own lines. Then finally the Commander of the battalion came forward and rode across the lines and bellowed loudly for all to hear.

"_ORDER. ARMS!_" we brought our muskets up to lean straight against our shoulders, all in an orderly fashion, at the same time. They were friggin' heavy… Plus our stuff made us feel even more like pack mules. The Commander bellowed again when that was over.

"_PRESENT. COLORS!_" flags flew up, company after company, the sound of unfurling fabrics billowing in the air reaching my ears. We sighed. Anytime this year would've been nice…

"_COMPANY. FOR-WARD. MARCH!_" came the scattered cries of the Colonels. The drums pounded finally, ringing out the marching cadence as we stepped out with the left, right, left ringing in our heads, making sure we were all staying in step. I took this opportunity to turn and speak with Charles.

"Is it always like this?" I asked.

"What in the bloody hell do you think, just shut up and march…!" Stephen hissed. Charles looked at me with a gaze that said 'it's alright, but do as he says'. I sighed and marched alongside my brother, ignoring the weight upon my shoulders. I had a tough time staying in step and keeping up with my line glancing to the right to keep my guiding. And my heart nearly stopped when I heard hoof beats alongside us and a stern voice.

"OI!" I heard Arthur. Shit… "Keep in line! Stay in step! Guide! March right or I beat you with a stick later! Got it?" No answer. Not from me. I was practically stiff as far as my upper body went and I kept my head down to hide the features of my face.. "You there!" he called out to me. For a minute I thought he recognized me. "Answer!"

"Aye, sir!" I called out in the most boyish voice I could muster and got into step and caught up with Charles. When Arthur was satisfied he rode a little up ahead to the front line. I let out a long sigh of relief. Phew… He didn't recognize me. I heard Stephen snicker next to us.

"Shut up…" Alfred grumbled to him. I turned to Charles and whispered.

"That… was a little scary…" I said.

"Welcome to the British Army…" he replied. Stephen snickered and turned to look at me.

"That is commonly called the 'boot-to-ass' technique. If you don't do as he says, boot… meet ass. Now you'll do as he says," He snickered. I almost laughed at the way he said ass. It sounded more like _ahss. _Ain't I mature…

"Soldier!" I heard Arthur call to Stephen. Stephen stiffened.

"Yes, sir…" he muttered.

"What was that?" Arthur called out sternly.

"Yes, sir!…" Stephen called out a little louder.

"What's your name?"

"Private Stephen Lambton, sir!"

"Hm, Private Lambton- Shut it and march!" Arthur ordered and rode ahead. Alfred sputtered as he tried to hold in a laugh. I too, smiled a little as well as Charles. Stephen scowled and was silent for the rest of the journey.

* * *

It took three days for us to finally arrive to our destination. And by then, my feet were throbbing with a terrible pain that felt like a thousand needles tearing through my foot from the inside, a pain that I felt I could hardly bear. On the first day of the march, by nightfall, I did not want to walk any longer. But for our two hour sleep, I was so immersed in rest's comforting embrace that my eyes did not stay open and the thought did not even come to mind to take off the boots cutting into my heels. I did the same on the second night.

For that, I paid dearly…

Not only was the lack of sleep taking its toll beneath my eyes, placing dark, tired shadows upon my skin, but my feet felt horrid. My middles of my feet were sore, my heels felt like the bearers of needles and knives and every other sharp object, and my toes felt numb at this point. But like usual, I kept my mouth shut during the march even when at one point I almost fell to my knees.

"Corporal, are you able to go on?" Arthur called out to me once, inquiring upon the way I had been limping through the land. I was so tempted to say 'no' but to avoid being seen by Arthur and given away (plus not having to endure Stephen's giving his share of grief to me), I quickly said, "Yes sir" and with one last skeptical look, Arthur rode ahead again. I also wasn't to keen on the idea of being left behind to die, should this army not be the type to provide a horse to one who cannot walk. Most likely they weren't… Supplies and transportation had limits.

I was joyously relieved when we finally had arrived. Thank the Lord for good fortune! I almost fell on my knees to praise Jesus for a second.

I fell out of ranks when our men were ordered to do so and immediately I walked away and sat down, gritting my teeth and not even wanting to touch my feet. Ever. Alfred saw this and walked over to me. He'd taken off his boots on the first and second nights so he looked fine. Yes, his feet were sore, but I would've been willing to bet that he didn't hurt nearly so much as I. I looked up at him.

"Your musket loaded?" I asked him. Alfred kneeled down to me.

"Mmhm," he nodded.

"Good, please shoot me with it…" I said and I looked down at my feet. Alfred looked down at them.

"That bad…?" he knew me well enough to know that it took a lot for me to feel like that. Soon afterwards, one more familiar and unwelcome voice presented itself.

"Oi! What are you doing? We need to set up camp why are you just sitting there you lazy rats!" called out Stephen, the out-crower of all. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"Wonderful…" I muttered and he walked over, kneeling with both Alfred and me, looking at me with expectant eyes.

"Well, you gonna get up?" He said in an annoyed tone.

"… I can't," I said. I wasn't lying… I almost fell down multiple times during the march. I was _not_ getting up. Apparently, that wasn't a good answer. Stephen stood up and kicked my leg. Following that came a surprising sight.

Alfred got up and grabbed Stephen by the collar of his coat and growled at him lowly.

"You touch my… brother… again… And I'll kill you…" he hissed. In his anger, he almost forgot to not call me his sister. Stephen too looked surprised.

"What's going on here!" I heard Arthur's voice ring across the place to us as he walked this way.

"They're being good-for-nothing's and not helping to set up camp!" Stephen said. Alfred shook him.

"He can't walk, you moron!" he snapped.

"Stand down!" Arthur ordered and there was a long silence. Alfred looked at Stephen one last time before grudgingly letting go of him and backing away, being sure to lower his head so Arthur wouldn't see his face.

"… Do I know you?" Arthur asked with a quirked brow upon further scrutiny of my brother. I could see his muscles tense and I panicked. _Both_ of us did. As soon as Arthur found out who we were, we were dead! I knowing him, with his kind of temper, he'd skin me and Alfred alive. Alfred was at a loss of what to say and so I spoke for him.

"He and I are brothers, Colonel…" I said. Arthur turned his attention to me. I kept my head down but continued to speak in a well-practiced youthful boy's voice. "Inseparable… Where he goes I go, and the other way around. If he had ever known you, I would know you too and let me tell you that I sincerely do _not_ recall us ever meeting you before the call to war against the French…" I finished and said nothing more. Arthur quirked a brow and paused before I heard the crunch of leaves being crushed beneath his steps coming closer and closer to me until I saw the folds of his red soldier's coat splaying across the ground as he kneeled down.

"… I don't believe I addressed you, Corporal…" he said sternly. I scoffed. It was hard not to when I knew the _real_ Arthur behind the soldier's façade.

"You didn't address me… But I address you anyway… My brother Bentley is a bit of a tongue-tied man when it comes to the higher ranks. So I've made a habit of sometimes speaking for him," I ignored the glare I got from Alfred for stealing his thunder. Arthur quirked a brow at me.

"… Let me see your feet. Your brother said you couldn't walk…. _I_'_ll _be the judge of that…" he murmured a little lowly. As if there was something interesting that he was noticing as he spoke with me. I tried to ignore it… I winced as I put my hands on my boots and started to pull the left off, then the other… My toes were red and my feet were absolutely filthy from the walk. "Turn them…" he said so far not seeing anything. I turned them to reveal my heels. My eyes widened when I saw huge, red, swollen, bleeding blisters on them. Arthur too stared at the ugly marks and then looked at my hunched form.

"… Bandage those feet… If you can, help pitch camp. If not, then sit down and wait," he nodded and stood again. I in return suppressed a sigh of relief as he turned to Alfred and gave him orders on what to do to pitch the camp before leaving to supervise everyone else.

Alfred and I looked at each other and one gaze was all it took for both of us to know what the other was thinking: _Thank. The. Lord._

* * *

My favorite part of the whole thing? The shooting range, where Arthur took us to be trained in firing a musket. Little did he know that he had already trained me many times in shooting one in the woods not far from the Kirkland manor back at home. Little did he know that he also trained 'Bentley' Jones a thousand times alongside me.

Despite my feet being covered in blisters completely, I still walked with the company to the shooting range to train up on our skills with muskets. I wouldn't dare to miss such a thing. If anyone knew me at all, they would know full well that I was happiest when I was aiming a weapon to a target. I liked everything other girls didn't. I liked the feel of a gun tucked in my arms or gripped in my hands. I liked the satisfaction I got whenever I had hit a target dead-on. There was _no _way I was missing gun-training.

"You're crazy! You're feet are gonna kill you if you keep walking on 'em like that…" Alfred had said. I looked up at him and replied coolly.

"When have I ever missed shooting practice?"

Arthur too was surprised. He had recognized me as the Corporal with the messed up feet from before. So he too inquired upon my walking the next day after pitching camp on his own way to the range.

"Corporal, you sure you can walk on those feet of yours?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," I had replied simply, joining Charles, Alfred and Stephen with the rest of the company. Charles had nothing to say. Stephen as per usual sneered at me… I was pretty sure he was doing that because I had sat down the rest of the day when we had first arrived and only now was I walking.

Scarecrows lined the range, dressed in the French coats (probably stolen off of dead men), motionless and waiting for the musket fire. I smiled. Nothing pleased me more than practicing skill with guns. All of the company lined up, muskets tucked into their arms, ready to be shot. I was already preparing my gunpowder as Arthur called out what to do. I wasn't even paying attention, I already knew how to do it.

Alfred was following my lead and already readying the weapon within his hands, filling it with powder and smiling. Eventually in our loading, Arthur finally got to the point.

"I want accuracy! I want the shots to be precise! Remember!… Aim small, miss small!" he said before putting himself to the side of the company line. "MAKE READY!" he called. All of us lifted our guns and positioned the buttes against the sides of our chests. It felt odd to position a gun on the chest I had strapped down. Apparently, I had momentarily forgotten that I was posing as a young, British boy. "AIM!" came the next call. I closed one eye and carefully planned my shot, a deep, smooth breath inhaling and exhaling from my chest. Relaxed… I was aiming for the head... Keep steady... I told myself. Aim small, miss small... I repeated over and over. Aim small miss small...

Anticipation rose over the company as silence strained between the calls. We waited for our order, some anxiously, and some nervously, for they had not yet actually used a gun other than to hunt. I fidgeted in my position, the very crunching of the leaves beneath ringing in my ears. Until finally…

"…. _FIRE!_" came the call that was soon drowned out by the crackling thunder of the muskets as the triggers were pulled. Powder wisped around the clearing following the shots.. I grinned as I saw stuffing fly from the head of the scarecrow I had aimed for just before my sight was blurred by the white clouds of gunsmoke. Gotcha…

Straw flew from the chest of the scarecrow shot by Alfred. I looked at him and grinned, nodding. He did the same, snickering with pride in his good hit. Charles said nothing. He simply shot and waited for the next call.

"RELOAD!" we all quickly as we could reloaded the muskets with fresh powder and new bullets. I was now excited. Adrenaline rushed through me.

"READY! AIM!" came the second calls. We did as commanded, squirming in our positions, wanting to see how well we could do again. Here goes...

"_FIRE!_" came the call. More thunderous bursts of powder as shots were taken. More stuffing flew from the head of the scarecrow I aimed for. I looked at Alfred's shot and saw straw falling from the scarecrow's groin. That would have been comical…

But it was then I noticed the frozen expression of Alfred's face. The urgency of the other soldiers as they turned from one to the other filled the air around me. I heard more loud shots cracking into my ears… But this rung from the trees. A chill went through my entire body as the drowned out cry of Arthur's telling us to get out of range echoed desperately across the field. Blood roared in my ears and turned to ice within my veins. I grabbed Alfred's hand and stood up in panic and confusion. What was happening...?!

Gunfire everywhere. Not ours, I knew that for sure. It was only when a bullet whizzed by me and hit Stephen, who was running behind me, in the chest when I fell down on the ground with Alfred next to me. It was only when blood sprayed onto my face and grass when I realized with horror that we were no longer the ones firing the guns… The enemy had found the British camp.

_And _they _were firing at _us…

* * *

**DUN DUN DUNN... The arrival of LE FRENCH! what will happen next? Find out in the next Chapter! Hopefully it will be posted 1 to 2 weeks from now. Aka deadline being either 6/3/13 to 6/10/13. Look out for it!**

**Also, go visit my profile to get the link to my facebook fan page! :)**


	8. Chapter 8: First Blood Drawn

**Wooo! It's here. This is the Eighth Chapter of America the Beautiful! Took a little bit but hey! Here it is! Enjoy. :3**

**D****ISCL****AIMER: I own nothing except for American Soldier and all throw-in characters!**

**Chapter 8: First Blood Drawn**

Gunfire. That's all I heard along with the screams of soldiers echoing within my ears. I shielded Alfred with my own form, staying low to the ground in the tall, golden grass beneath me. Ahead lay Stephen, unmoving and lifeless, around him blood staining the ground. Chest-shot… The man-made thunder was deafening as my heart raced within me. I stared at him for a moment. The bullet that almost hit me in the head instead had whipped just past my shoulder and hit Stephen.

But I had no time to think of that now. I grabbed onto Alfred's coat as he was pale with fear and trying to get onto his feet with me. I was dragging him.

"Get up! Move!" I shouted urgently and eventually his feet scrambled to where he was moving with me. I picked up my musket and aimed a shot, firing at a French soldier. I heard the bullet meeting a mark and the scream of the man I had aimed for, but I could tell I only wounded him. At that point, I didn't care. I got back down and crawled my way through the grass with Alfred. My head whipped left and right as my ears filled with a mix of all sorts of frightening sounds. Only one question whirled through my head and made my heart throb uncontrollably.

_Where was Arthur?…_

"Sit down and stay down! But move while you do. Don't stay in one place! And once you're out of range, run! Run to the camp, got it?" I told Alfred. He was shivering and silent for a long time, fear wide in his eyes. My heart was pierced by this, to see my brother so afraid, when many times he had appeared to be unafraid of even the most trying tasks, when I taught him to be strong no matter what the cost. I tried to get his attention, tried to break the fear within. "Alfred, look at me!" He was still frozen until I finally sighed and, laying my hands on either side of his face.

"Look at me!" I said turning his face to look at me. He looked up at me. "Do you understand? Get out of range. Stay down. Look back to make sure no one is aiming at you. If someone is, either shoot them or move out of the way fast. And then run back to the camp. _GO!_" I threw him to the side and he nodded, finally getting out of shock and moving low in the grass, trying to get away. I watched only for a moment as he did as he was told, then finally, I too began to move to a different position. I got up quickly and ran briefly to scan the area for Arthur before ducking again to avoid gunfire. My knuckles were white as I clutched my musket tight within my arm, my muscles aching. But so much adrenaline rushed through me that I didn't care to notice it.

I found no sight of him. Either he was hiding or… I shook the thought away. No, he had not been shot… I knew him too well. He'd been in too many engagements to have been shot. I could never believe it. I would keep searching for him, even if I got shot in the process. I would never leave anyone behind, ever, especially not Arthur.

I heard a cry for help and my senses pricked, following the sound and pinpointing the direction. The voice was familiar the second time it was heard… _Charles!_ I crawled quickly in that direction, and from the yellow long grass I saw the glimpse of someone's hand, and the very faint outline of a man amongst the strands. The rustle of my going to the unknown person was drowned by the ongoing musket-shots beyond the trees. When I found that the man was not Charles but a dead man with a bullet in his eye and blood caking it, I held down the contents of my stomach and kept scurrying across the grass, trying to find my fellow soldiers.

"_Help!_" I heard the cry again and followed it. I went to Charles with desperation and a sense of great urgency as blood roared within my ears. Soon I called out too. I followed the voice praying to God that he was alright. That way I could at least save one man if not another.

So much ground separated me from other men. Soldier after soldier, I saw nothing but the faces of nameless dead men that had been shot trying to run. One who was shot in such a way, half his cranium looked like it had been blown off, another man shot in the center of the chest and still bleeding despite his chilling body, all of them lifeless though. I tried to not pay attention to that. This was the first time I had ever seen dead people… And it hurt. But I could not think of that. I could not mourn. I had to keep searching for those who might still be alive but I wasn't sure.

A cry, a scream, an order shouted, it didn't matter what I heard, it was muffled by the overwhelming sound of the thunderous muskets of the Frenchmen beyond. Mingled with the voices of my own company was a language that was slurred and foreign. Obviously French… They were coming closer to where we hid and ran. They were immerging from their hiding amongst the trees. _Alfred, please hurry…_

"Charles!" I called out over the musket fire but I didn't hear him. I scrambled through the grass and flinched when I felt a hand clench onto my jacket. My head snapped to see who it was and my face paled. The young man with curled strawberry-blonde locks and a pleasant face now that which was pale white and was covered in filth. As was his coat dirtied. I looked upon him and saw that he shook and his hand covered a spot on his stomach.

"Anthony…" I heard him get out. I slowly removed the hand that blocked any sign of a wound… and low on the side of his abdomen was a hole within his coat. I pulled aside Charles's jacket to see blood soaking his shirt. "I'm alright… I don't feel a thing…" I heard him and looked at him with fear written in my eyes. He was smiling his usual sideways smile. "… You should run…" He said, his fingers clenching around the fabrics of my coat. His pale blue eyes were dim and weak. I shook my head and wrapped my arms around him.

"You have just as much right to live as I do, you're coming with me!" I lugged his arm over my shoulder and wrapped my free arm around his waist, helping him up and running. "_ARTHUR!_" I called out for him again. But then I remembered that he was Colonel so I called out again. "_COLONEL KIRKLAND!_" I feared for the life of my friend, who's breaths were shaky, but quiet, as if the bullet had never touched him. All the while I murmured words to keep Charles awake. I couldn't let him pass out on me. He was going to be alright… He had to be… Stephen was already shot, now I wouldn't let this man join him. He was going to live another day, damn the consequences, I didn't care.

_He wasn't going to die…_

My ears pricked as I heard a familiar voice.

"_Fall back! Fall back!_" I heard the desperate cry. My eyes widened and I didn't know whether to be afraid or to be relieved.

_Arthur…_

"Colonel Kirkland!" I called out and I ran as fast as I could with Charles in my arm and his arm around my neck, bullets whizzing past my hair, just barely grazing my coat, my booted and blistered feet striding across the scarlet-stained, golden grass. I followed Arthur's voice, trying to focus on it amongst all the other chaotic noises but it was difficult. It was so loud I swore my ears could have bled, but they weren't. My mind whirred in a mix of desperation and panic.

I couldn't take up my musket. I had a man with me so I couldn't just drop him and shoot. I had no choice but to keep moving… Keep going. Keep running. My knuckles clenched onto Charles's coat so hard that they turned white as chalk as I carried him . Blood rushed through my veins and pulsed vigorously through my body.

I looked to the trees and to my horror saw blue uniforms coming my way, the faces of the French drawn in merciless intent. I saw a glimpse of a man with wavy blonde locks tied in a ponytail immerging from the shadows of the woods, musket clenched in his hands.

He looked familiar somehow, but I just kept moving as fast as I could without hurting Charles or falling. No time to think about it… Had to find Arthur. Finally I saw him. He was trying to move low to the ground as I was a few moments ago, but his leg was wounded and he was struggling. I hurried as fast as I could with all my might to carry Charles into that direction. With each step, it seemed to get slower, and my muscles ached with the heavy weight upon them. Each stride I took was accompanied with the fast beats of my heart nearly bursting in my chest. My lungs burned on the inside, begging for me to let them rest but I could not. My breaths were loud in my ears as I panted. My feet were getting heavy and stung with pain which normally would have been unbearable, but right now I had to move.

_Keep going… Keep going…_

No where was safe. I prayed to God I would live. Prayed I could get these two to safety. I saw Arthur clearly now and he saw me. So far it seemed with Charles's arm hanging on my shoulder and the pain throbbing in my feet and the sound of bullets filling my ears. Only 15 feet away, but it seemed like eternity with so much to bear. I had to go through Hell and keep going. I would make it!… He would make it!… Charles would be okay and we'd both make it to camp.

Time seemed to slow and all seemed to go completely silent for a moment. It was as if in that moment, the cold breath of terror was pouring over my neck, sending a chill up my spine, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. All the trees that were blurring as I stumbled previously had now suddenly become an eternity of nothing as I slowed. My eyes met Arthur's and I watched as his lips formed the word, 'Corporal', his eyes wide in horror and his arm flailing in the direction of the camp as I watched the word 'go' being formed.

At this, my eyes trailed to the trees where the soldiers were coming. Amongst them, the fair-haired one that I saw a glimpse of only moments ago with piercing eyes and a tall, broad shouldered form was staring straight at me, his gaze glinting…

And the end of his musket pointed right at me. All things froze around me at that moment. My breath hitched. I saw one last smirk upon the man's face… and finally the fun discharged. Smoke rose. That one shot thundered into the air. And within a half a second, pain shot through me like knives. Blood sprayed into the air as I fell down onto the ground, my grip loosening a little on Charles, who fell with me. My musket dropped away from my arm and my sight began to blur as I felt blood soaking through my shirt and coat. The pain throbbed and I tried to move but the very tips of my fingers refused to do so. I stared at the steadily fading sky.

All around me the gradually disappearing pounding of soldiers' feet within my ears echoed like many beating hearts. Although my own heart was slowing… I saw faint shadows of running men above me, soles of boots just barely missing me and Charles. I knew Alfred had retrieved the men. Many more booming gunshots sounded from afar.

My vision was becoming worse and worse by the seconds. The last thing I saw was the washed out faces of Alfred and Arthur kneeling down on either side of me and a third face of whom I couldn't think to recognize. I heard their voices vaguely as my sight blackened.

"Corporal Anthony… Hold on… Anthony…" I heard only those words, until the last fading phrases. Before the end of my consciousness, the syllables loosely hazed together until I heard but this:

"_Anne… Anne…_"

* * *

Where was I?… My mind had just come into awakening when I strained to remember what had happened… Gunfire… Yes, there was gunfire… It came to me. We were attacked!… And… I went to find Charles and Arthur… _Charles! _Was he alright? And Arthur too! Alfred!… My brother! I had the right mind to sit up but I couldn't. I had not the strength to move. But why…? Then I recalled… I'd been shot. I remembered… Terrible pain and blood… Then nothing. Darkness was all I could see. Silence was deafening. I wondered if I was dead… But my eyes slowly fluttered open to see the dim light of the setting sun shining through the fabrics of a tent.

I looked to the side to see a large box filled with medical supplies. It took seemingly all of my strength to move my head to look the other way. Strewn on what looked a bit like writing desk was a bowl, bloodied rags, and a hook. I quirked a brow when I heard a gruff voice speak up, causing a slight headache to pulsate through my sinuses.

"Finally woken up, 'ave you?" the voice said. My green gaze trailed to the direction upon which I'd heard the growl. The man standing there looked familiar… It was only when he turned to look at me over his shoulder when I recognized him. With wide eyes I realized who it was. The Saint Bernard face, his drooping eyes, the dark but graying locks of his hair, and the tired lines on his face were unmistakable. His fingers that resembled the likeness of wet paper laid over his bones twitched.

"Private Mortan…?" I croaked out. He was the middle-aged man I'd met in the tent on my first day here; the one who seemed to be angry at everyone and snapped at both me and Alfred when we asked him a simple question.

He grunted.

"What happened?" I asked softly. Mortan paused before turning to me.

"The company was attacked… The French wanted to make their way into the camp… If your brother hadn't come to warn us, you'd probably be dead right now… You were shot…" He said, looking down at me. With that posed another question.

"Where is my brother? Are Colonel Kirkland and Private Charles alright? Are they-"

"Colonel Kirkland and your brother… Bentley… are fine…" Mortan cut in. "The Colonel's had his leg tended to and your brother was not wounded in the skirmish… Thanks to you, he says." He still hadn't answered my question about the third man…

"Charles? What of Charles?" I said in a little bit of a demanding voice, not intentionally, but because a cold shiver went through my body as I thought he might be-

"Alive…" Mortan said. I sighed relieved. "But not doing well…" Now I stiffened again. I looked up at the elder man in front of me.

"What do you mean?" I asked him, my voice shaking.

Mortan sighed. "I mean that he isn't exactly bloomin' good… He was bleeding pretty bad and kept falling in and out of consciousness. We aren't sure he's gonna be alright… But we're hoping."

I felt cold… Charles was hurt badly and I didn't even know what was going to happen to him. I looked up at Mortan. I tried to sit up but a quick feeling of pain went all up and down my arm and I hissed in a breath, flopping back down. Well… Now I knew the general region of my wound…

"How many were killed?" I asked. Mortan was surprisingly patient with my questions.

"Thirty men in your company are gone… Had it not been for your brother, there would be more…" he said. I shut my eyes and immediately regretted the question. Thirty men… Thirty... Men… I sighed.

"… Wounded?…" I asked.

"So far as I know only four people besides you, one of them being Arthur…" I sighed in relief that time… Not too grievous. But the air… It was odd. Like tension was building. I saw Mortan's hands behind his back, fondling a bit, as if he was angry or uneasy.

"Are you-"

"You were shot in the collarbone…" he said. I froze. Oh no… "Now before you ask another question… I have one for you…" I heard Mortan say in an eerie tone before he stepped over to my bedside and seemed to be glaring at me. I almost shrunk… I had not been swayed by a glare until that very moment. My heart almost stopped.

"… Wh… What is it?" I croaked. Mortan loomed over me and stared me straight in the eyes with his dulled but heard and cold gaze. His lips curled into a slight scowl as he stared at me and I began to be afraid.

"Who are you really… _girl_…" he hissed at me and I went pale. I had almost forgotten how to breathe… He knew… He _knew_… Did Arthur know? Did everyone know? Would I be sent away and shamed? Would I be killed? What would happen to me? What would happen to Alfred? Was he at this exact second being scolded and shunned for following me and disobeying Arthur?

I paused before I sat up and looked down to see that my front was bandaged up and I had lack of a shirt on… Blood was on my collarbone area and to top it off, when I looked down, my coat was on the floor as was my shirt.

Ah, Hell…

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**UH OH. A.J. you betta EXPLAIN yoself... Anywho that is the eighth chapter! Hope you liked! Next chapter will be out on either 6/12/13 or 6/19/13. Keep an eye out!**

**And for updates, go to my Kethissfreak fanpage on facebook for updates! The link can be found on my profile! ^^ See ya!**


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